Singara, samosa, kebabs and various other foods are being made from jackfruit, Minister for Agriculture and for Fisheries and Livestock Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid has said, adding that these products are also highly nutritious.

The minister said a kind of revolution had taken place in fruit production in the country. Many fruits that once had to be imported are now grown at home, so fruit imports have fallen, and he hoped that in future imports would no longer be needed.

He spoke to journalists on the morning of 18 June after opening the National Fruit Fair 2026 on the grounds of the Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in the capital and visiting various stalls.

Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid said that besides a range of local fruits, fruits that are not commonly found are also on display at the fair. Many fruits once imported are now grown in the country, reducing dependence on imports.

Citing dragon fruit, he said: "Even two or three years ago we imported dragon fruit. Now we dream of exporting dragon fruit from Bangladesh. Although it is a foreign fruit, dragon fruit grown in Bangladesh's climate is very tasty. It is sweeter and better in flavour than dragon fruit from other countries."

Saying the government is also working on diverse uses of fruit, the agriculture minister said singara, samosa, kebabs and other foods are being made from jackfruit and are highly nutritious. Various countries are in talks with Bangladesh about producing and marketing jackfruit-based food products, and these products are also being developed locally, he said.

He said small entrepreneurs in the country are getting involved in fruit processing and value addition. Exports of mango, pineapple and jackfruit have already begun, and he hoped jackfruit exports would rise further this year. The minister said contacts with China are continuing to expand jackfruit exports.

"We hope that in the days ahead fruit will become one of Bangladesh's strongest export products," he added.

Asked whether the allocation for agriculture had been cut in the proposed budget for 2026-27, the minister said the allocation had not fallen but had risen by more than 10 per cent on the previous year. Incentives and the development budget come on top of that, he said, and those saying the allocation had been cut had perhaps not done the sums correctly.

He added that, by comparison, this year's allocation for agriculture is higher than at any time in the past, and the government's main plans are being taken forward with agriculture at their centre.

The National Fruit Fair 2026 displays seasonal and less common fruits grown in different regions of the country, along with fruit-based processed foods. Farmers, entrepreneurs and various public and private organisations are taking part. Senior officials of the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM), the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) were present.

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