Bogura, the trading district of the north, is making a mark in exports. Goods produced here are going to many countries, Bogura is playing an important part in earning foreign currency, and new products are constantly being added to the export list.

Data from the Bogura Chamber of Commerce and Industry show that Bogura's products go to India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, Australia, the United States, Russia, Germany, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, England, Italy, Norway and other countries, at least 18 of them in Europe. The export market grows every year.

Established products include yarn, sacks and other jute goods, rice bran oil (edible oil made from rice bran), Saudi royal garments, readymade garments, net caps (jali tupi), handicrafts, digital scales, transformers, irrigation pumps, paddy threshers, tube wells, nakshi kantha, potato, chilli, maize, and local pabda and shing fish.

Bogura recently exported Malabar spinach (pui shak), bitter gourd and spinach seeds to Malaysia. Tomato and cucumber seeds have now been added to the list, and Italy and the United States have shown interest in the same kinds of products.

Inquiries found that India, Nepal, Russia and Malaysia are the big markets for Bogura's rice bran oil, jute goods, water pumps, spare and farm machinery parts, artificial hair (wigs), potato, maize and vegetable seeds. These goods are also sent to the United States according to demand.

Among rice bran oil makers, Majumder Products Ltd leads in production and export; its product is Sworna Rice Bran Oil. Next is Tamim Agro Industries Ltd. Western Agro Product Ltd, Kibria Traders Ltd, AR Enterprise and Alal Agro Food Products Ltd also make and export rice bran oil. Kibria Traders and Tamim Agro have recently been exporting more maize and less rice bran oil.

Traders say rice bran oil production faces some obstacles, chief among them a shortage of bran. The oil is extracted from the brown layer left on the rice after the husk is removed, and bran is not always available in the quantity demand requires. Since the coronavirus pandemic, demand for exports of perishable vegetables such as Malabar spinach, bitter gourd, spinach and tomato has risen, and there is also good interest in cucumber seeds.

Arif Azad of exporter Mashwa Enterprise said Bogura's potato, cauliflower, cabbage and other vegetables were in great demand abroad, and green chilli, potato and vegetables worth thousands of crores of taka were exported every year.

Abdul Wahid of AR Enterprise said vegetable seeds were exported regularly to Malaysia, and exports to Italy and the United States were now being processed.

Sagar Hossain Fakir, managing director of Sagar Traders, said several potato varieties from his fields, including Granola, Asterix and deshi Pakri, went regularly to Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. Besides him, another exporter in Kalai, Joypurhat, was exporting large quantities of potato, and several exporters were also shipping from Shibganj, Kalai and Khetlal, he said.

Export earnings were $12.5 million in 2017 and $58,313,788 in 2018. With rising demand, they reached $72,330,632 in 2019. Sales fell somewhat because of the coronavirus in 2020, when earnings stood at $52,621,094. They were $57,768,312 in 2021, $57,223,479 in 2022 and $33,954,785 in 2023, and in the nine months to September 2024 earnings were $30,510,752. Traders said exports had stalled somewhat over the past two years because of the dollar crisis and political instability, but the crisis was now easing.

Bogura's exporters say the district has always been well ahead of other northern districts in engineering, and its irrigation pumps still dominate the domestic market. Some exporters ship with a certificate of origin from the Bogura Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while many take certificates of origin from the Dhaka, Chattogram or Narayanganj chambers.

According to the Export Promotion Bureau, handicrafts made by rural women are exported to 18 countries in Europe and beyond, including Germany, Sweden, France, the Netherlands, England, Italy, Norway and Australia. Net caps go to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Dubai, India, Pakistan and other countries, with at least Tk 100 crore of caps exported from Bogura each year. Special royal garments are exported to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai and several other countries.

Shafiqul Hasan Jewel, owner of exporters Hasan Jute Mill and Hasan Jute and Spinning Mill, said he had started exporting a dozen years ago and exports rose every year. Because the goods were of good quality and somewhat cheaper, huge demand had built up in the Indian market, he said.

Trader Minhajul Aziz said jeans, T-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts made here were exported, and supply could not keep up with demand. Goods usually go by ship, and sometimes by air, he said.

Sairul Islam, acting president of the Bogura Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said demand was growing because Bogura's products were of good quality. Business had not been good for the past few years because of the country's political situation and global instability, but the situation was now better, and Bogura was exporting as hoped, he said.

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