Tk 1.86b lost a year for poor packaging

Some Tk 1.86 billion is lost every year in export of agricultural products, especially vegetables, due to lack of quality packaging, official sources said.
Packaging is a major problem for export of agricultural products. Due to absence of quality packaging, Bangladesh is losing Tk 1.86 billion or 15 per cent of the total export every year, they said.
"Buyers don't want to purchase our export items, if there is any fault or the quality of packaging is poor. For this, we want to develop our packaging to keep the present export market of agri goods intact," Shawkat Momen Shahjahan MP, president of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of agriculture (MoA), told the FE Saturday.
The MoA parliamentary standing committee asked to the ministry concerned to take necessary steps soon for improving export packaging system of vegetable products in its recent meeting, the sources said.
Agricultural products worth around Tk 12.40 billion are exported to different countries every year, according to the sources.
It is possible to create a potential position in the Middle East and European markets, if Bangladesh can ensure improved packaging for export of agri goods, they said.
If the government allocates Tk 300 million as subsidy for the packaging industry, it can stop packaging-related loss to the tune of Tk 1.86 billion, they added.
An elegant packaging is the key to attracting consumer awareness. Particularly agricultural products to be exported face competition with those of other countries in the global market, a MoA source said.
"In order to establish a good image of our agricultural products to be exported, the government has begun to work with Hortex Foundation which will help improve the packaging of the goods for export," he said.
Hortex Foundation is now working for developing the export packaging system of vegetable products. The foundation will submit a recommendation on the detailed packaging system of the export items soon, he said.
A big amount of foreign currency is being lost every year for poor packaging of agricultural goods. So, the government should pay special attention to the ministry or department concerned in this connection, he added.