BAPA FoodPro Int’l Expo to kick off Thursday

The three-day largest show on Food Processing sector of Bangladesh ‘9th BAPA FoodPro International Expo 2023′ will take place from September 28 to 30 at International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in Dhaka.

It was announced through a press conference held at the capital’s Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) office today.

Bangladesh Agro-Processors’ Association (BAPA) and Rainbow Exhibition & Event Management Services (REEMS) are jointly organizing the expo with support from the Ministry of Agriculture, said a press release.

The expo will remain open for all from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. More than 200 companies from 20 countries including Bangladesh, India, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Germany, Singapore, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, Malaysia, Italy, the USA, the UAE and Switzerland will display their products and services at the fair.

In addition to this fair, two other co-located Expo named “11th Agro Bangladesh Expo 2023” and “Food Ingredient Expo 2023” will also be held at the same time. This is known to be the most prominent platform for the organizations who are involved in this sector to exhibit their products and service to the Bangladeshi market and to expand their businesses.

Addressing the program, Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairperson of the fair committee and chairman and CEO at PRAN-RFL Group said, “The agro-processing sector of the country is doing well. This sector in one hand, is working on food security of our country, on the other hand it also enriches our economy by earning foreign currency through exporting the products. The agro-processing sector can represent itself of their capability to the world through this international fair.”

Md. Iqtadul Hoque, general secretary of BAPA, said, BAPA has been working relentlessly for the development of the food processing sector since its inception. BAPA’s aim is to ensure the growing development of the sector and move forward in keeping pace with the international level.

In the age of globalization, development is not possible without the use of technologies. So, BAPA is working relentlessly so that Bangladesh does not fall behind in this sector under any circumstances, he added.

Hoque said the BAPA is working to accelerate the economic development of the country by ensuring the development and overall coordination of this sector.

He also added that BAPA is working to flourish the sector and increase the export of agro processing products. A total of 479 members of BAPA are now exporting to more than 140 countries.

The contribution of the agro sector is around 22 percent while agro processing sector’s contribution is around two percent. “We hope the earning of agro processing sector will be worth of $2 billion in 2025. Therefore, BAPA is hopeful that such fair will play an important role in bringing our processing sector to the international level,” he added.

Chanmohan Saha, managing director at REEMS, said, “We got huge response from the previous fair where many leading national and international food and beverage companies exhibited their products and services while visitors came here to gather their knowledge on food sector. I hope the 9th BAPA Foodpro is going to get good response.”

BAPA vice president Abdul Majed, executive committee members Azmul Haque, Mustafizur Rahman, Mohammad Al Imran, Moin Uddin, Syed Md. Mustafa, Nur A Alam Dewan and other members of the organization were also present at the program. (BSS)