Bangladesh fruit processors say they get training but too little machinery support

Fruit processing entrepreneurs in Bangladesh said they could get training but not the modern machinery and technical support they needed, according to a Jagonews24 report published on 27 June 2026. They told the paper that drying, processing and packaging machines remained hard to obtain, so many worked with ordinary knives and blades and learned from YouTube and foreign research papers. Officials of the agencies involved said support was being given but was limited by budgets and resources.

Ismail Khan Shamim, general secretary of the Shibganj Mango Producer Cooperative Society in Chapainawabganj and owner of "Nawabi Mango", makes aamshotto (mango leather), mango bars, dried mango slices and dried mango, dried pineapple and pineapple candy, and dried papaya. According to the report, he failed 40 times while mastering dried mango slices, losing about 100 maunds of mangoes.

Shamim said every product he makes came from his own research and development. Local agricultural researchers, he said, could advise him on which preservative to use, but not on how to get a good texture or a good-quality product. Journals from other countries helped him most, followed by YouTube videos from the Philippines, Brazil and Mexico; a Philippine video finally showed him how to keep the fruit's colour. He said most dried fruit sold in Bangladesh is imported, and with support local processors could build a strong domestic brand.

Md. Sohel Rana of Barendra Agro Park in Sapahar, Naogaon, dries tomato, mango, banana, moringa leaves, neem leaves and arjun and turns them into powder in a hybrid smart dryer that, he said, runs on solar power by day and electricity at night. Powder-making and packaging machines, he said, are expensive for small entrepreneurs. "We have received various trainings, but we have not yet received machinery support," he said. He said the PARTNER project had recently opened support of up to 70 percent for buying processing equipment, and called for special government help with dryers and packaging machines in the mango districts of Naogaon and Chapainawabganj.

Mohammad Kanchan Mia, managing director of Hajera Agro Private Limited and owner of Arot Agro BD, makes jackfruit chips, fresh-cut jackfruit, pickle, jam and seed powder. He said the fruit's sticky latex was the biggest obstacle, and its quick ripening left little time for processing. Most of the work, he said, is still done with knives, blades and axes, while developed countries use automatic machines. He said there was demand for jackfruit products in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, but technical limits had kept Bangladesh from establishing itself in that market.

The Horticulture Export Development (Hortex) Foundation was formed in 1993 under the Ministry of Agriculture to develop and promote high-value farm produce for export through technical and advisory support. Its joint director (marketing), Mitul Kumar Saha, told Jagonews24 that it gives mainly women entrepreneurs hands-on training in processing mango, jackfruit, tomato and other produce, along with equipment support and market links, including on a limited scale dryers, jackfruit chip equipment and small pack houses. He said the foundation's allocation for fruit processing was relatively limited.

Mohammad Munsur Alam Khan, a director at the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM), said projects provide training and, depending on the project, financial help to buy machinery, with the government often paying part of the price and the entrepreneur the rest. Limited resources, he said, meant not everyone could be helped.

Dr. Md. Golam Ferdous Chowdhury, chief scientific officer of the Postharvest Technology Division at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), said processing had long been neglected because public investment focused on raising production. Under the PARTNER project, he said, DAM aims to develop about 20,000 entrepreneurs nationwide with 11 to 12 days of hands-on training and matching grants for machinery and packaging. The World Bank has said it is providing $500 million for PARTNER, with $43 million in co-financing from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); the agreements were signed in June 2023 and its aims include more women and youth entrepreneurs.

Photo: Shamim Ahammed sumon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources: Jagonews24, World Bank, Wikipedia (Horticulture Export Development Foundation)