CropsQuality fruit and food are produced in Bangladesh, but weak promotion, low consumer awareness and a gap between farmers and scientists hold the sector back, S M Nazer Hossain of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh told a round table on 27 June 2026.
To realise the potential of Bangladesh's fruit processing industry, international standards and destination-specific compliance must be ensured, not just production, a BSTI official said.
Eaten more than 100 billion times a year, the banana is the world's most consumed fruit and, after wheat, rice and maize, its fourth most important food crop.
CropsKhulna district produced more than 80,000 tonnes of fruit on about 25,000 hectares in 2024-25, yet by June 2026 it had no cold storage, processing or organised fruit market, and no fruit had been exported from the district.
Bogura entrepreneur Tania Akter began with just 2 kg of jujube pickle, and that small venture has grown into a brand.
The Serbian town of Arilje supplies about a fifth of the country's raspberry exports, but growers face a drought-hit crop and prices that do not cover costs.
More than 30 per cent of Chapainawabganj's mangoes now sell online, but sellers say the cost of Facebook advertising paid in dollars is eroding their profits and raising prices.
FruitsThe Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture has released BINA Sofeda-1, a sapodilla variety developed with gamma rays and registered by the National Seed Board in 2023, whose fruits weigh 250 to 450 grams.
FruitsIn June 2026 BARI's Fruit Research Station at Binodpur, Rajshahi, was conserving all 18 BARI mango varieties and foreign germplasm and trialling grapes, pomegranate and other fruits; its varieties include the coloured BARI Mango-14 and BARI Falsa-1, though officials said a staff shortage limited its work.
CropsIn June 2026 fruit expert Dr Md Mehedi Masud wrote that pruning, forcing new shoots and bagging now let Bangladeshi farmers grow Thai guava all year; on the figures he cited, national guava output passed 6.64 lakh tonnes in 2024-25.
Watermelon is by far the biggest fruit crop in Barishal division, followed by betel nut, coconut, banana and mango, according to 2024-25 production data.
The Regional Agricultural Research Station at Akbarpur, Moulvibazar, has developed 11 fruit varieties since 1982 and is now adapting fruits, vegetables and oil crops to the region.
FruitsChina imported $18.94 billion of fruit in 2025, led by durian from Thailand and Vietnam, according to its food and farm produce trade chamber. A Jagonews24 report in June 2026 cited analysts who saw the market as an opportunity for Bangladeshi fruit.
