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The government is going to prepare a roadmap to enhance shipments of mangoes to 0.1 million tonnes annually within the next five years.
It was revealed at a workshop titled 'Improved Management for Raising Mango Exports' organised by the Hortex Foundation.
The event was held at the Agricultural Research Council (BARC) Auditorium in the capital on Monday, according to an agriculture ministry release.
The workshop mentioned that 25 per cent of the country's produced mangoes worth Tk 36 billion is wasted annually for lack of proper supply chain management.
Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, chief guest of the event, said the ministry and its various agencies will prepare a specific action plan for making 0.1 million tonnes of annual mango shipments in the next three to five years.
He also said the country produces 2.5 million tonnes of mangoes a year while only a few hundred tonnes could be exported.
"We have to work to attain the export target. The concerned embassies of Bangladesh in different countries will be told to form committees consisting of different officials to help branding Bangladeshi mangoes, and find new markets," he added.
The minister further added that a comprehensive programme has been taken to increase mango exports.
He informed that work is underway to set up three vacuum heat treatment plants to ensure safe mangoes for shipments.
Good agricultural practices (GAP) are being implemented to keep mangoes safe from production to export level, he shared.
The government has also taken initiatives to issue phytosanitary certificates, Abdur Razzaque stated.
As a result, mango exports have increased five times this year compared to last year, he mentioned.
The keynote paper was presented by Dr Atiqur Rahman, post harvest management expert for NATP-2 at Hortex Foundation.
It said the country exported 1,623 tonnes of mangoes in fiscal year (FY) '21 which was 263 tonnes in FY'20.
The paper said despite a notable rise in export last financial year, the shipment volume is still very tiny compared to that of local output of 2.5 million tonnes.
It said more than 25 per cent of mangoes worth Tk 36 billion are being wasted every year for lack of proper management of the fruit.
In case of Khirsapat mango, the post harvest loss is 36 per cent and for Fazli mango it is 29 per cent, said the paper.
To minimise post harvest loss, the total supply chain should be mordernised, and export should be boosted, said the keynote.
The paper mentioned new market exploration, improved selection according to export demand, phytosanitary methods and GAP should be implemented to tap the potential mango markets.
The workshop was chaired by Md Mesbahul Islam, senior secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture while Dr Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar, executive chairman of BARC, spoke as special guest.
Director General of the Department of Agricultural Extension Md Asadullah, and Managing Director of Hortex Foundation Manjurul Hannan also delivered speeches, among others.