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Bangladesh has to develop national policy and ensure fiscal support for agro-processors to reap the benefits as the agro-processed products’ market is expected to reach $5.8 billion by 2030, suggests a new research.
The report titled ‘Growth Drivers for Bangladesh: Accelerating Investment Opportunities in Agribusiness, Digital Economy and Green Finance’ was released Sunday. It made some recommendations for Bangladesh on agribusiness, digital economy and green finance. Policy Exchange Bangladesh (PEB) produced the report for the Foreign Investors’ Chamber Of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), marking Bangladesh’s 50th year of independence.
It suggested the country develop a national quality infrastructure with a strong focus on agro-food quality control and certification mechanism aligning with internationally-accepted standards.
The report said that more robust trade integration through targeted trade agreements and export competitiveness help export market development for agro-products, creating pull factors and entry points for reforms such as standards.
On the other hand, an effective market information system is critical for bringing all market players in accessible digital networks and providing real-time information on markets, demands and supply projections
As per the research data, the demand for food will rise 60 per cent by 2050 globally. The market will grow rapidly as 34 million people would reach middle class by 2025. Bangladesh is among the top 10 producers of rice, jute, farm fish, vegetables, potato and further growth in the segment needs investment.
The research also addressed some important areas to improve, including productivity, availability of appropriate varieties for processing, level of mechanisation, adoption of Good Agricultural Practices, Contract Farming Framework, High percentage of post-harvest loss, import-dependence of processing ingredients, logistics availability, particularly temperature controlled logistics and standards and certification facilities conforming to international market requirements.
The report also underscored some key policy reforms to garner local and foreign investments including one-stop services at the Ministry of Agriculture for efficient and fast agribusiness regulatory services delivery, new regulatory framework for logistics, removal of restrictive measures on foreign ownership in logistics sector. It suggested removing 40 per cent equity ceiling for foreign partners in logistics joint ventures and develop internationally compatible Halal certification system, expansion of third-party and private participation in testing and certification, three to five agro-processing zones in areas considered commercial agri production centres, adaptation of Good Agriculture Practices to address sustainability issues.
The research report also described what successful countries did to build strong ago sectors. They targeted long-term sector development plan/policy for agribusiness, strong agribusiness focus in FDI promotion and export strategy, economies of scale through agglomeration of agriculture economy, logistics development for processing value chain, effective market information system for market, demand and supply projections, and broader enabling environment.
