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Bangladesh is preparing to export jackfruit to China as part of efforts to boost foreign exchange earnings, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman told Parliament on Wednesday.
Responding to a supplementary question from Jamaat-e-Islami MP Kamrul Hasan Milon (Mymensingh-6), the prime minister said Bangladesh had already signed an agreement with China to facilitate jackfruit exports.
Speaking during the parliamentary session chaired by Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Tarique Rahman said Chinese consumers have a strong preference for jackfruit, creating a promising market for Bangladesh’s national fruit.
“During my recent visit to China, we signed an agreement with the Chinese government. Jackfruit is very popular there, and, God willing, we will begin exporting Bangladeshi jackfruit to China,” he said.
Referring to his recent visits to Malaysia and China, the prime minister said Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had noted that Malaysia earns around US$1 billion annually by exporting durian to China.
“Durian looks quite similar to jackfruit. If Malaysia can earn that much by exporting durian, Inshallah, Bangladesh can also export jackfruit and generate significant foreign exchange,” he said.
Earlier, Kamrul Hasan highlighted the large-scale production of lemons, pineapples and jackfruit in Mymensingh’s Fulbaria upazila and proposed establishing an agro-based industrial zone to add value to the region’s agricultural produce.
In response, the prime minister said the government has no plan to establish a separate industrial zone in Fulbaria but is working to revive a previously closed pineapple processing plant in the area to support local agricultural production and value addition.