Agro commodity supply chain data scheme to boost exports

The government is set to launch a tech-powered agricultural goods packaging centre within a month or two to increase exports to Western markets by ensuring supply chain traceability and including modern quality control procedures.

The initiative for reaching out to Western top-tier retail chains, regarded as the West's prime consumer market, will boost agricultural commodity exports by 25-30%, it is expected.

The Central Packing House at Shyampur in the capital will be upgraded to provide full sourcing data of agro commodities for importers. An existing laboratory at the facility will also be modernised to allow for accurate goods testing.

An announcement to this end was made on Wednesday at a seminar held at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council auditorium in the capital. A draft of the new packaging house operating policy was unveiled at the seminar stating the project has been undertaken by the Department of Agricultural Extension.

Agriculture Secretary Wahida Akter said, "We are only beginning to provide supply chain data for agro commodities to foreign buyers but there are over 500 such packaging houses in India and innumerable in Thailand to get the job done. Thus, to expand the country's capacity in this field, the private sector has to come forward."

Project Director Dr Shamim Ahmed said the main target of the project is to go beyond focusing primarily on expatriates' market in foreign lands and boost sales to Western-origin consumers.

As per the policy draft, the shelf life of vegetables and fruits will be increased through advanced packaging procedures, washing and drying of these commodities will be automated, hot water treatment system will be installed to kill postharvest pathogens and advanced blanching and shocking processes will be set up to preserve the original flavours and compositions of the commodities over longer periods.

The commodity quality testing process will be fully digitalised and no paperwork will be included to make the procedure transparent for foreign buyers. Importers can procure test results on demand online and the fees will be similar to private testing fees.

A skilled workforce is being developed to conduct research at the modernised testing laboratory of the packaging house. Additional funds will also be provided for running the laboratory.

An integrated software will be deployed for coordination between the packaging works, testing activities and official tasks at the refurbished Central Packing House.