Bogura exports Tk 32cr vegetables this year

BOGURA, Aug 23: Bogura exported around 9,700 tonnes of potatoes, pumpkins, cabbages, taro and dried chillies worth Tk 32 crore to Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates this year, according to the district agriculture office.

Shibganj Upazila, known as one of the major agricultural hubs of the district, accounts for most of the exports. The upazila produces a wide range of agricultural products, while Mahasthan Haat, one of the district’s largest wholesale markets, remains busy with traders and exporters throughout the year.

Farid Ahmed, an assistant agriculture officer of the district agriculture office, said some vegetables were also exported from other upazilas, although the volume was relatively small.

The agricultural products are brought to Mahasthan Haat, where wholesalers from different parts of the country gather to buy them. Local traders then collect and package the export-bound products before sending them to exporters in Chattogram.

The exporters transport the products from the Chattogram port by ship to importing countries, from where they are distributed to foreign markets and shopping centres.

According to Abdul Hannan, Shibganj Upazila agriculture officer, 5,966 tonnes of potatoes were exported this year. The potatoes, including local varieties such as Pakhri, Sunshine and Music, were sent to Malaysia, Singapore, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Their local market value was Tk 20.86 crore.

Around 200 tonnes of pumpkins worth Tk 40 lakh were exported to the same countries, he said.

Another 3,000 tonnes of cabbage worth Tk 4.5 crore were exported to Middle Eastern countries.

Around 22 tonnes of taro worth Tk 8.8 lakh were exported to Saudi Arabia, while 600 tonnes of dried chillies worth Tk 6 crore were also shipped abroad.

Shibganj and Shajahanpur upazilas are the district’s major vegetable-producing areas, according to the agriculture office.

The export activity remains particularly busy for around eight months from the beginning of the winter season, with Mahasthan Hat becoming a major collection and trading point for export-bound vegetables.

Hannan said the Export Promotion Bureau office had been withdrawn from Bogura a long time ago, resulting in limited monitoring of export-quality agricultural products in the district.
He said vegetable exports had also created employment opportunities for local youths.