Shawdesh Desk:

China expressed its keenness to import mango from Bangladesh this year, said Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen.

The Chinese ambassador came up with the information while talking to the agriculture minister Md. Abdus Shahid at the secretariat in Dhaka on Monday.

An expert delegation from China will likely visit the country, specifically the mango orchards and production facilities, in the first week of June.

Bangladesh will approve the export of mangoes based on the report of the Chinese delegation.

Additional secretary to the agriculture ministry Moloy Chowdhury, joint secretary Md Mahmudur Rahman were present there.

Anticipating Chinese investment in the agriculture sector, the minister emphasised Bangladesh’s urgent need for modernisation and technical support to mechanise its agricultural practices.

He highlighted the crucial role of Chinese cooperation in providing affordable access to modern agricultural machinery for the country’s farmers, given the competitive pricing of machinery from China.

Earlier, the agriculture minister met the ambassador of the Netherlands in Bangladesh Irma van Dueren.

The meeting stressed the need for strengthening mutual cooperation in the agriculture sector and working together on strengthening agricultural research and technology exchange.

The meeting also discussed the construction and launch of onion storage in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka at the initiative of the Netherlands government.

Onions can be stored throughout the year in this storage, which will be inaugurated officially on May 2.

Noting that onion is an important crop of Bangladesh, the minister said ‘To become self-sufficient in onion, we are emphasising on increasing onion production and preservation.

The initiative of the Netherlands government will play a very helpful role in this regard.