Processing, conserving fruits and vegetables
Md Asaduzzaman | Tuesday, 17 June 2008
BANGLADESH produces good quantities of fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. The production can meet the needs of the country entirely as well as generate a surplus for export. There is also the potential to produce and export a great deal more. When these favourable conditions are there for producing fruits and vegetables, it is noted that thousands of tons of fruits and vegetables actually rot away from a dearth of processing and preservation facilities. The rotted fruits and vegetables mean wasted resources for their producers; the country is denied the benefits of their supplies or possible foreign exchange earnings from their export.
For example, large quantities of superior quality mangoes are found perishing at Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj, every year. Pineapples decay at Mandhupur which is less than a hundred kilometers away from the capital city. The hilly districts in the Chittagong areas in particular incur losses from the rotting of pineapples and other fruits and vegetables. According to reports, fruits and vegetables in vast quantities produced in the south-western districts of Jhenaidah, Magura, Narail, Jessore, Kushtia, Chuadanga and Meherpur, face a similar fate. It was assessed that fruits produced in these areas that get spoiled include 35 per cent of tomatoes, 10 per cent of bananas, 15 per cent of water melons, 30 per cent of guavas and 15 per cent of jackfruits.
What is needed is the establishment of cold storages and processing plants in the fruit- and vegetable-growing areas. Only if refrigeration facilities become available, which would be physically near to the growers and their services become available at reasonable costs, the producers will be seen taking an interest in saving their produces by using them than letting them to rot away. In the same way, pulping and canning facilities nearby will also check rotting while adding value to produces.
Government should encourage the setting up of such preservation and processing facilities. Krishi ('agriculture') bank and other state-owned banks can be directed to disburse credits on soft terms and conditions among entrepreneurs to this end. The government's department of agricultural extension can take the initiative to set up these facilities as a starter and to draw the attention of the private sector to their business potentials.
A number of export-oriented agro-industries have been doing path-breaking work in this direction. They have contracted with farmers to produce round the year with guaranteed stable price for their yields. Thus, the motivation of the farmers has remained strong as their earnings have become regular and ensured. More significantly, the farmers have been trained to produce quality products observing the latest health and safety factors. Secondly, the agro-industries have acquired good technologies in the areas of processing and packaging which means not only substantial value-addition to the produces from the fields but also the creation of appeal for the processed and packed foods among not only Bangladeshi expatriates but also foreign consumers. Thus, from the growers' to the consumers' stage, some producing and exporting houses here have been successful in building up a value-chain that meets eminently the interests of all the parties involved at different phases.
Private sector operators, who intend to join the ranks of successful agro-industries with an export dimension, need to essentially copy the methods of the few firms which are there and which have been successful in exporting agro-products. But the new firms should try to do better than the older ones by trying to acquire even more sophisticated technologies, innovating food products and their packaging. In that case, their attraction will not be limited to only the expatriate Bangladeshis, but they can also expect to gain a wider market access among foreign consumers.
For example, large quantities of superior quality mangoes are found perishing at Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj, every year. Pineapples decay at Mandhupur which is less than a hundred kilometers away from the capital city. The hilly districts in the Chittagong areas in particular incur losses from the rotting of pineapples and other fruits and vegetables. According to reports, fruits and vegetables in vast quantities produced in the south-western districts of Jhenaidah, Magura, Narail, Jessore, Kushtia, Chuadanga and Meherpur, face a similar fate. It was assessed that fruits produced in these areas that get spoiled include 35 per cent of tomatoes, 10 per cent of bananas, 15 per cent of water melons, 30 per cent of guavas and 15 per cent of jackfruits.
What is needed is the establishment of cold storages and processing plants in the fruit- and vegetable-growing areas. Only if refrigeration facilities become available, which would be physically near to the growers and their services become available at reasonable costs, the producers will be seen taking an interest in saving their produces by using them than letting them to rot away. In the same way, pulping and canning facilities nearby will also check rotting while adding value to produces.
Government should encourage the setting up of such preservation and processing facilities. Krishi ('agriculture') bank and other state-owned banks can be directed to disburse credits on soft terms and conditions among entrepreneurs to this end. The government's department of agricultural extension can take the initiative to set up these facilities as a starter and to draw the attention of the private sector to their business potentials.
A number of export-oriented agro-industries have been doing path-breaking work in this direction. They have contracted with farmers to produce round the year with guaranteed stable price for their yields. Thus, the motivation of the farmers has remained strong as their earnings have become regular and ensured. More significantly, the farmers have been trained to produce quality products observing the latest health and safety factors. Secondly, the agro-industries have acquired good technologies in the areas of processing and packaging which means not only substantial value-addition to the produces from the fields but also the creation of appeal for the processed and packed foods among not only Bangladeshi expatriates but also foreign consumers. Thus, from the growers' to the consumers' stage, some producing and exporting houses here have been successful in building up a value-chain that meets eminently the interests of all the parties involved at different phases.
Private sector operators, who intend to join the ranks of successful agro-industries with an export dimension, need to essentially copy the methods of the few firms which are there and which have been successful in exporting agro-products. But the new firms should try to do better than the older ones by trying to acquire even more sophisticated technologies, innovating food products and their packaging. In that case, their attraction will not be limited to only the expatriate Bangladeshis, but they can also expect to gain a wider market access among foreign consumers.