The BAPA Foodpro International Expo is one of the largest events presenting the potential, capacity and growth of Bangladesh's food processing industry in one place. Organised by the Bangladesh Agro-Processors' Association (BAPA), the three-day international exhibition begins on Thursday, 10 September. This is the 11th Foodpro.

Almost every year leading food processing groups from home and abroad take part, along with small and medium entrepreneurs. Foodpro has therefore become not just an exhibition but a "showcase" of the overall capacity and potential of the country's food processing industry.

Jago News spoke to BAPA general secretary Syed Muhammad Shoaib Hasan about why the event is held, its aims, how successful it has been and the prospects and challenges facing the industry. The interview was conducted by senior reporter Nazmul Hussain.

Jago News: What is this year's BAPA Foodpro like?

Syed Muhammad Shoaib: The exhibition starts on Thursday at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital and runs until Saturday, 12 September. We have confirmed the participation of more than 200 brands from 27 countries, and entrepreneurs from over 150 foreign investing companies are coming.

Jago News: How is this year's exhibition different from other years?

Syed Muhammad Shoaib: The basic structure is the same, but this time there is something new in the technical sessions, seminars and practical activities alongside the display of food products. Participating companies will show the latest technology in processing, filling, packaging, coding and marking, labelling, quality inspection, warehousing, cold chain and logistics.

Also, for the first time, AI-based automation, machine vision, robotics, smart factories and industrial IoT will get special emphasis. More than 4,000 technology and machinery-based solutions will be presented.

Jago News: What benefits do entrepreneurs get from such an event?

Syed Muhammad Shoaib: First, at this fair you will see technology that you could not otherwise see without going abroad. You will find every food processing solution under one roof—how to start a business and how to survive, which every entrepreneur needs to know.

On the first day we will hold a seminar for entrepreneurs on food safety management systems. The second seminar is on access to finance—how they can get financing easily. The first session on the second day will be on renewable energy, followed by a session on trademarks and patents. That day there will also be a CEO conclave, where we will discuss with 20 leading CEOs how problems in the food processing sector can be solved.

On the last day we will identify the barriers to exports and why exports are declining. Policymakers will be with entrepreneurs in every session. In other words, we want Foodpro to present an entrepreneur's journey from A to Z.

Jago News: Foodpro has been held before. What response has it received?

Syed Muhammad Shoaib: BAPA Foodpro represents Bangladesh worldwide. This time too, more than 200 brands from 27 countries will take part. There are no sales at such a fair, but the links made between home and abroad are huge. Just as we go abroad, foreigners are coming to Bangladesh. They will display technology suitable for Bangladesh and raw materials useful for this country. That is not possible without an exhibition like this under one roof. Imagine how hard it would be for a local entrepreneur to see all this by travelling to different countries.

Jago News: What will others get from the fair?

Syed Muhammad Shoaib: The three-day exhibition is open to all from 10am to 7pm on 10 and 11 September and from 10am to 6.30pm on 12 September. We expect more than 24,000 visitors, and not all of them are business people.

We want consumers, new entrepreneurs and small and large traders all to come and see what others in the sector are doing and what support each needs. Representatives of the country's regulatory bodies will also come to get an idea of our potential and limitations. Students of food science will come as well. This time we are providing free transport for students from agricultural universities.

Jago News: Which foreign countries are taking part this time?

Syed Muhammad Shoaib: They include Algeria, Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Jago News: Turning to another subject, how are Bangladesh's food exports doing now?

Syed Muhammad Shoaib: They are negative now. Because of the war, our exports to Middle Eastern markets have fallen. We are also all suffering from the gas and electricity crisis. Another problem is that the government is sincere about policy support, but in practice many long-standing problems have not been solved.

Still, whatever the ups and downs, the potential of this processing industry never shrinks by a single drop. If BAPA's 360 companies export 300–400 million, creating a three-billion market for marginal farmers is nothing. Only the right policy support is needed. You say there will be no contract manufacturing, yet you want exports. A policy of damaging factories with talk of unhygienic tokma whenever there is disagreement will not work. The world is now a global village, and such news hurts us.

Jago News: What is the attitude of government and business towards these problems?

Syed Muhammad Shoaib: What we must do is build trust. It is not that we have no problems ourselves. We cannot win the government's confidence, and the government cannot win ours either. That is the issue.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.