Chief adviser Muhammad Yunus on Thursday sought support from the Food and Agriculture Organisation in an effort to export fruits and farm products to China in a bigger way.
The chief adviser met FAO director general Qu Dongyu on the sidelines of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in the coastal Chinese town where he made the request for support, chief adviser鈥檚 deputy press secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder told UNB.
Yunus said that China was emerging as a top importer of agriculture and aquaculture products, but Bangladesh was unable to tap into the market due to a lack of understanding of the Chinese markets.
He urged the FAO DG, who was a former senior official of China, to act as a matchmaker between Chinese importers and Bangladesh farm and fruit producers.
鈥榃e need support in fruit processing and in vegetable preservation, storage and packaging. You can connect China with our farmers and exporters,鈥� Yunus said.
He said that China would soon import mangoes from Bangladesh, and the country could easily develop more exportable vegetables and fruits with FAO鈥檚 assistance.
The director general offered FAO鈥檚 full support to Bangladesh, saying his organisation would take up a new project in an effort to export Bangladesh farm products to China.
鈥榃e are matchmakers. We will establish a new network鈥� between Bangladeshi and Chinese farm companies, Qu Dongyu said.
He said that Bangladesh was the largest recipient of FAO鈥檚 assistance, and he wished that Bangladesh would do well under the leadership of Professor Yunus.
鈥榊ou are my older brother. I sincerely hope your country does great. We will help you, for sure,鈥� he said.
Energy and transport adviser Fouzul Kabir Kabir Khan was also present during the meeting.