Poor transport costs farm sector Tk 300b a year, say speakers

Poor transport costs farm sector Tk 300b a year, say speakers


FE Report

Commerce minister Muhammad Faruk Khan said Wednesday the country must boost production to address the food shortage and resultant spike of daily essentials.

"We have to increase output to address the challenge of food price hike," the minister said.

Terming agriculture a crucial sector, Mr. Khan said that the government would soon sit with all relevant actors to find a wayout of the sector.

His comments came at a seminar on 'Agro-Processing Industries in Bangladesh: Possible Dutch Cooperation,' organised by Dutch-Bangla Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DBCCI) in the city.

The commerce minister also said over the last two years, about 2,000 megawatts (MWs) of electricity were added to the national grid and another 1,000 mw could be added by the end of this year.

He sought the Dutch technical cooperation to make trade relations between Bangladesh and the Netherlands stronger and more vibrant.

"We're facing major challenges of climate change, infrastructure shortage and lack of skills," he told the seminar.

Dutch ambassador of Alphons Hennekens said his country is forging cooperation with both the public and private sector to build a sustainable and productive agriculture sector.

He said that Netherlands' agro-processing industry plays a significant role in the Dutch economy.

He held out the assurance that his embassy would help Bangladeshi entrepreneurs select the right business partner for joint ventures with Dutch companies.

Dr M Saleh Ahmed presented the keynote paper in the seminar, chaired by its president M Imam Hossain.

The speakers opined that Bangladesh could share Netherlands' experience in its food and food processing sector and the field of agriculture.

In his keynote paper, Dr Saleh Ahmed said Bangladesh has tremendous potential to increase production of selective high value agricultural commodities.

"The industry is growing fast and the agro-processing industry is opening up new window of opportunity considering investment, technology and export and Dutch cooperation can promote agro -processing industries in Bangladesh," he said.

One speaker said every year the country's agriculture sector incurs losses of 300 billion taka in the post-harvest period for lack of proper transportation and premature harvesting.