Bangladesh will participate in the Expo Milano-2015, a six-month-long exposition slated for May 1 and October 31, 2015, aiming to further enhance export to Italy, officials said.
Bangladesh will showcase foods produced from rice in the global exposition. The theme of this exhibition is 'Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life'.
"We will display different kinds of foods produced from rice in the expo to enhance their export," said a senior official at the Ministry of Commerce (MoC).
He said foods like puffed rice, flattened rice, dried rice, vermicelli, and papor will be displayed in the exposition.
The expo organisers are offering a pavilion to Bangladesh free of cost. A three-member Bangladesh delegation, led by Commerce Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, is now visiting Italy as part of preparation to take part in the global food expo.
Vice chairman of Export Promotion Bureau Shubhashish Bose and chief architect of Department of Architecture Ahsanul Haque Khan are also in the team to sketch the design of the Bangladesh pavilion.
The team are also attending the first meeting of 'College of commissioners general' in Parma, a city known as the heart of the Italian Food valley for its gastronomic industries. The meeting, slated for December 2-3, will start with a preview of the European Union's discussion paper on global food and nutrition security.
A senior official at the MoC said a very rich cultural team comprising well-known performers from Bangladesh will also attend the expo in Milan to present the heritage and culture of the country.
Bangladesh's annual export to Italy now stands at around US$ 1.0 billion and its import from there is around $ 250 million.
Bangladesh mainly exports frozen food, agri-products, tea, leather, raw jute, jute goods, knitwear and woven garments to Italy. On the other hand, it imports products including live animals, animal products, vegetable products, edible fats, prepared foodstuffs, plastic, products of chemical or allied industries, raw hides and skins, leather, and handbags.
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