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Bangladesh plans to seek duty-free quota-free (DFQF) or preferential access to the Pakistani market for agricultural and processed products, as well as jute and jute goods, sources said.
The proposal is likely to be placed at the upcoming meeting between the commerce adviser of Bangladesh's interim government and the commerce minister of Pakistan.
The meeting will be held in Dhaka. Officials of the two nations will schedule it through discussions.
The high-powered meeting was supposed to be held on July 30-31 this year in Dhaka.
However, it was not held due to the tariff talks between Bangladesh and the US.
On July 30-31, Bangladesh's commerce adviser was in Washington for the talks.
Bangladesh currently imports basmati and boiled rice, dry date, wheat bran, apricot, medicinal plant parts, potato, onion, maize, maize starch, spices (khar jeera/shahi jeera), apple, and mandarin from Pakistan.
It imported 464 tonnes, 73.44 tonnes, 6,232.97 tonnes, and 52,563 tonnes of potato, basmati rice, onion, and boiled rice, respectively, in the last six months.
On the other hand, it exports raw jute, jute yarn, wooden pallet, foodstuff, tea, okra seed, bamboo split, unmanufactured tobacco, tobacco and tobacco products, bottle, and sponge gourd to Pakistan.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on agricultural cooperation was signed between the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) on February 13, 2006.
After that, Bangladesh's Ministry of Agriculture formed a three-member working group headed by the BARC executive chairman on December 2, 2006.
Under the MoU, Bangladesh received seven rice varieties/lines, 27 wheat varieties/lines, and 21 chickpea varieties/lines from Pakistan, which were forwarded to the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) for further research and development.
The evaluation of the varieties is currently in progress.
The MoU expired on February 12, 2016.
At present, BARC and PARC are in the process of negotiating an extension of the MoU.
A joint work plan will be developed through discussions between the working groups of both countries.
Pakistan may consider increasing the imports of fresh seasonal fruits, such as mango, pineapple, and jackfruit, as well as agro-processed products from Bangladesh, an official said.
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