Page 40 - ICE BUSINESS TIMES December 2019

FAIR PRICE OF ONION TO
ENSURE SELF-SUSTAINABILITY

Bangladesh has to rely on Statistics (BBS). And annual
foreign onions as local onion production has
farmers do not want to expand remained steady at 17-18 lakh
its cultivation amid fears of tonnes for four years to fiscal
losses due to low prices during 2018-19, against the demand
the peak harvesting seasons, of 24 lakh tonnes, creating a
said farmers, agriculturists, demand for the imported
and traders. Acreage of the variety. The country imports
crop has hovered between 10-11 lakh tonnes onion to
4.19 lakh and 4.59 lakh acres cover the shortfall, which also
since 2014-15, according to results from post-harvest
data of Bangladesh Bureau of losses.

FOREIGN Local food processors received a good
response from the foreign buyers at the 7th
BUYERS EYE Bapa FoodPro International Expo 2019. The PUBLIC-PRIVATE SECTOR
JOIN FORCES TO
BANGLADESH Bangladesh Agro-Processors’ Association ENSURE BANKS
(Bapa) organized the fair. The association
AS A consists of 569 members who are selling provide better digital services
products in 144 countries with a combined
POTENTIAL export value of over $800 million. This is
SOURCE FOR expected to rise above $1 billion by 2021. Public-private cooperation will enable banks
Participants displayed food products, food
to provide quality digital services to customers
PROCESSED processing, and packaging products and at a faster rate. The observations were made
machinery. It attracted all stakeholders
FOODS from the retail and wholesale food and at a summit on fintech organized by Bangla-
desh Brand Forum in association with
beverage sectors and generated new
connections. According to the food Guardian Life Insurance at a hotel in the
processors, the fair created a bridge capital. Convergence of fintech, banks,
between the local market and the government and other agencies needs to be
international market and familiarised local integrated for financial inclusion and there
entrepreneurs with modern technologies must be coordinated efforts from the national
and products. level to help people get services digitally.

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