Vegetable production increased sevenfold in last 12 years: Minister
People have to buy vegetables at higher prices due to problems in marketing, he added
Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque said that in the last 12 years, the country's vegetable production has reached 1.97 crore tonnes, a sevenfold increase.
"But there are some problems in the marketing of agricultural produce. Hence, vegetables are more expensive in the markets," he said, inaugurating the National Vegetable Fair-2022 on the premises of Krishibid Institution Bangladesh in the capital's Farmgate area on Monday.
The minister also said Bangladesh is now the third largest producer of vegetables in the world.
However, people are having to buy vegetables at higher prices due to problems in marketing of agricultural produce, including profiteering middlemen and extortion during transportation, he added.
The minister said the government is working on controlling the price of vegetables. If these problems can be solved, a fair price of vegetables will be ensured.
He urged the commerce ministry and law enforcement agencies to ensure that the price of vegetables remains within the purchasing power of the people.
Highlighting the huge potential for vegetable exports in the country, the minister said, "We are working to increase exports. Soon exports of vegetables will become one of the major sources of foreign exchange earnings."
The three-day fair, which will conclude on 2 March, will remain open from 10:00am to 8:00pm every day. Some 52 stalls of public and private agencies are partaking in the show.
Visitors to the fair will be able to see the various vegetables grown in different parts of the country and get detailed information about that.
The fair has been arranged with a view to introducing people to the different varieties of vegetables produced in the country, and to showcase different types of production methods and technologies, including modern vegetable production techniques.
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Bangladesh ranked third as a vegetable producer in the world. China secured first position and India is second. Farmers here now grow 100 types of vegetables.
Bangladesh produced 1.97 crore tons of vegetables on 9.35 lakh hectares of land in fiscal year 2020-21, and 1.84 crore tons on 9 lakh hectares of land, the previous fiscal year.
