The three-day National Vegetable Fair 2018 ended Tuesday, attracting good response from the consumers.
On the last day, the event on the premises of Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in the city was found packed up by the presence of vegetable lovers.
The sales of vegetables by several companies, especially that of the super-stores, increased by more than 50 per cent this year than that of the previous year, said organisers. Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) organised the fair.
Considerably lower prices of vegetables than that of the mainstream market and assurance of getting fresh products helped boost the sales, said both traders and visitors.
Rabiul Islam Swapan, senior merchandising manager at a garments factory, came to the venue with his family on Tuesday as he appreciated the initiative.
"Such initiative needs to arrange for a longer period," said Swapan, who went there to introduce his 6-year-old baby-girl with different types of vegetable plants she never seen.
Saleha Begum, a retired school teacher, also suggested organising such fair in a larger scale and for a longer period (at least one month) during winter, which would have an impact in the volatile mainstream market.
She bought a fresh cauliflower at Tk 22 per piece on the day at the fair when price of the vegetable in the mainstream market was Tk 30-Tk 40.
Md Golam Kibria, a bank official, bought ready-to-cook vegetable packs from a stall of the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM). A 400-gm pack containing five varieties of vegetables costs only at Tk 25.
"This is really a great initiative as you can't get several kinds of veggies at a time at such cheaper rate," he said.
TM Rashed Khan, asst director of DAM, told the FE that ensuring fresh vegetables at competitive prices have helped increase the sales of vegetables this year.
The fair concluded followed by a seminar at the KIB auditorium, where MoA senior secretary Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah was chief guest.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) director general Md Abdul Aziz presided over the seminar while DAE Horticulture wing director Mijanur Rahman made the keynote presentation.
Mr Abdullah informed the newsmen that vegetables and seeds worth Tk 6.0 million were sold by 57 companies in the fair.
Among the government organisations, DAE got the first prize while Metal Agro Ltd ranked top among the private companies, considering quality of products and their presentation.
Munshiganj ranked the top district considering per hectare yield of vegetables, followed by Joypurhat and Gaibandha.
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