Bangladesh has begun exporting fresh pineapples to Pakistan for the first time. A first consignment of 1.83 tonnes grown in Madhupur, Tangail, left on a direct Dhaka-Karachi flight at 7pm on Saturday, 17 October.
The shipment was sent by Samin International and is being imported by Prime Tech of Lahore. The fruit was sorted, graded and quality-checked at the Shyampur packing house in Dhaka before export. Md Aminur Rashid Mukul, deputy director of the packing house, said it was the first pineapple consignment ever sent from Bangladesh to Pakistan.
Samin International's owner, Jewel Ahmed, said the first consignment was of Madhupur's Calendar variety. His firm holds orders for another 22 tonnes and a second exporter has orders for 20 tonnes, about 42 tonnes in all.
"There is huge demand for pineapple in Pakistan," Ahmed said. He sees a good market there for moringa powder, betel leaf, areca nut, coconut, jackfruit and dragon fruit too, and said more farm produce could be exported if the agriculture ministry, the Department of Agricultural Extension and the commerce ministry worked together. The commerce ministry and the Bangladesh embassy in Pakistan helped with this shipment, he said.
Bangladesh sends small quantities of fresh pineapple to Europe, the Middle East and India. Pakistan adds a new destination. People in the trade say that if quality is kept up and supply matched to demand, regular exports could open new opportunities for everyone from Madhupur's growers to the exporters.
Reporting: Krishi Shomoy staff reporter
Photo: Nahid Sultan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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