Bangladesh is a land of Agri business opportunity. There are huge potential that can be explored in the total Agriculture value chain. There are other parts of agribusiness value chain having huge potential in the market like investment in Agri-Research and Development, Agri-Input supply and practices, Agri-Production, Post-Harvest, Agri-Communications and forward Linkage which can be further discussed.
Dr. F. H. Ansarey, President, ACI Agribusiness Division highlighted these points in a panel discussion held on the second day (12 March at 3 PM) of the event “Bangladesh Business Summit 2023 Program”. The event was held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the capital, organized by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Agriculture Minister Mr. Mohammad Abdur Razzaque was present as the chief guest on the occasion and Ms Mohsina Yesmin, Executive member , Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) chaired the session. The session was moderated by & Mr. Robert D. Simpson, Country Representative Food and Agriculture Organization, Bangladesh. A Key Note paper “Towards a Globally Competitive Agribusiness Sector: Emerging Opportunity in Agro Trade and Investments” was presented by Ahsan Khan Chowdhury Chief executive officer’ PRAN RFL Group.
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Dr. F. H. Ansarey addressed, ACI is a leading agriculture company operating in complete agriculture value chain in field crops, vegetable, orchard, fish, poultry and cattle from breeding to table. Presently, they have a large customer base in the domestic and international market.
In Agri-Businesses, ACI is having a successful joint venture with Godrej India in integrated poultry, cattle and aqua and also another JV with a Danish company CORO for fruit processing. ACI is growing steadily over 20% year to year in agribusiness.
He highlighted the areas of agribusinesses where there can be a potential for possible investments. In Agri-Research and Development, there are opportunities in developing capacity in molecular research and applied research in crop and animal sector. Today Research demands, new climate smart crop variety development, the development of agriculture practices, animal vaccines, Agri-Product standardization, certification and market research.
In Input and Practices, the country is having Seed market over 700Mil USD with 10% growth, Crop protection market 550Mil USD with 12% growth, Agri-Machineries market 1.2Bil USD with 15% growth, Animal health market including nutrition and supplement over 750Mil USD with 10% growth and Animal feed market over 4Bil USD with 8% growth. Large MNC’s and local companies are successfully operating business in this sector.
In Agri-Communication and Extension, There are opportunities for IT industry to connect farmers, dealers and extension workers in Bangladesh through digital platform. So far Bangladesh has put emphasis on production and productivity in agriculture. Post-harvest sector has significant potential for investment in warehousing, cold storage, cold chain and transportation.
He also addressed the availability of the local raw material for Agri-Processing. For example: Now Potato varieties are available having 22.5% dry matter low oil absorption, suitable for French fry, flakes, chips and starch to meet the industrial demand. There are new variety of Fruits and Vegetables available to meet the industrial demand like round the year tomato, mango, pineapple, guava, dragon fruits jack fruits, watermelon and strawberries.
Recent introduction of Venna Mei shrimp in Bangladesh could be a business opportunity for shrimp culture, processing and export. For value added Food Processing Industry, country process and use a wide range of agricultural products, including rice, wheat, spices, pulses, fruits, vegetable, drinks and beverages He added.
Another potential Agri-Linkage Industry is the retail chain. At present Bangladesh’s retail market penetration is about 2% where the total retail market is over 16 Bil USD out of this 30% is Agri-Products including groceries. In conclusion, although Agri-Business has huge opportunities in Bangladesh. Agri-Processing is a priority, however other areas can also be explored.
The event is being organised as a part of the FBCCI’s 50th founding anniversary celebrations with the aim of creating new opportunities for trade and investment by showcasing the country’s economic potential.
