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A three-day international fair for promoting food processing sector will begin in the capital on Thursday, aiming to give an impetus to the country's economy.
The event styled '6th BAPA FoodPro International Expo 2018' will be held at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital.
The expo organiser, Bangladesh Agro-Processors Association (BAPA), made the announcement at a press conference at the national press club on Monday.
BAPA President A F M Fakhrul Islam Munshi, its General Secretary Md Iqtadul Hoque and Chairman of the fair organising committee and chief executive officer (CEO) of PRAN-RFL Group Ahsan Khan Chowdhury attended the conference, among others.
Mr. Fakhrul Islam said that the fair primarily aims at creating greater interactions among the local and global food processing businesses.
"Entrepreneurs will come to know about the latest products and services at one place since around 150 businesses from home and abroad will take part in the fair," he said.
Mentioning the necessity of agro processing sector, he said around 40 per cent of agricultural produces in Bangladesh gets perished for unavailability of modern preservation system.
"Agro processing industries can help save the produces by making wide range of food items," he said, adding that the demand for processed food is also rapidly growing at home and abroad.
Mr. Ahsan Khan said the people are becoming more dependent on processed food in their day to day lives as many do not have much time to prepare their food themselves.
The sector will also play a crucial role in employment creation in the coming years, he said.
"Keeping this in mind, we are also organising a job fair at the same venue, where we are inviting the representatives from the public and private universities," he said.
Two other concurrent events '5th Rice and Grain Tech Expo Bangladesh' and '8th Agro Bangladesh Expo' will also take place at the same venue.
The BAPA is organising the events in association with an event management company Exteme Exhibition and Event Management Solution Limited.
Businesses related to food processing from 15 countries will showcase their latest machinery, technology, raw materials, products and services.
Technical and business matchmaking sessions will also take place on the sidelines of the fair.
The expo will remain open for the visitors from 10 am to 07 pm without any entry fee.