The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has sought cooperation from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to establish lab facilities at land, sea and international airports. FBCCI Senior Vice President Mostofa Azad Chowdhury made the call during a meeting with the representatives of the JICA and the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) at the chamber’s office in Dhaka yesterday.
Urging the JICA to come up with a financial and technical assistance project, Chowdhury said, ‘There is a huge demand for Bangladeshi food and agro-products in the north-eastern states of India, and accredited lab facilities at the land ports will facilitate the export of the products to the states. Airports and seaports labs will help Bangladesh explore the export opportunities in the global food market.
It was also noted that a significant part of the agricultural produce perishes due to the poor supply chain and preservation system. Farmers are also being deprived of fair prices. Rezaul Karim, a member of BFSA said, a loan proposal is awaiting approval to initiate a project for establishing a reference laboratory and training complex jointly by the BFSA and the JICA.
Teruaki Fujii, a representative of JICA stressed ensuring safe food in order to achieve sustainable food security. JICA’s upcoming project will create the scope for the private sector food-processing industry to flourish, he assured.
