Cargo space for vegetables
Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman has recently assured of adequate cargo space in aircraft for ensuring export of vegetables and allied food items. The minister also talked about chartering of special aircraft to ship the cargo to various destinations. The minister was talking to a delegation from the Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters Association (BFVAPEA) which met him on 18 September 2004. The delegation informed the minister that due to scarcity of cargo space in aircraft they cannot increase export of vegetables and other food items which now fetches Tk 500 crore a year. They brought it to the notice of the minister that there was a huge demand for Bangladeshi vegetables abroad. At present, they are exporting 4,000 tones a year, and they have the capability of exporting around 10,000 MT a year.
There is no doubt that vegetables and allied food sector is a potential sector for increasing our export earnings. We sincerely hope that the finance minister will soon translate his assurance into reality by solving all the problems including cargo space problem in the vegetable export sector.
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