Bangladesh will start exporting processed jackfruit products to the EU countries early next year, which experts believe will diversify the country's export basket.
Presently, the national fruit is shipped abroad only in its raw form.
Some companies under the Bangladesh Agro-based Product Producers and Merchants Association (BAPPMA) will initially supply jackfruit-made osmotic dehydrated food and jackfruit seed powder to some EU food chains from January, officials said.
The BAPPMA has been implementing the 'jackfruit product export initiative' under the Bangladesh Inspired Development Project for the last three years with the help of the Prime Minister Office's A2i project, said secretary general of the association Kazi Golam Ali Sumon.
The A2i has initiated a move to engage the private sector in processing chips, a meat substitute, to add maximum value to the national fruit, he said.
Nowadays, boiled and processed jackfruits and soya foods are becoming popular as alternatives to red meat in the US, Canada and EU, he added.
The EU, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam have captured most of the meat-substitute market worth US$ 4.17 billion (in 2017), said the BAPPMA secretary general.
The market is expected to grow to $7.54 billion within 2025, he added.
About the potential of exporting processed jackfruits, he said Bangladesh is the second largest jackfruit producer in the world.
"We can grab a major share of the market if we can develop varieties of products in the next five years," he said.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the country harvested 0.95 million tonnes of jackfruits in 2016-17 financial year, making it the second largest producer in the world.
Mizanur Rahman, director of Horticulture Wing at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said Jackfruit accounts for 25 per cent of total fruits the country produces.
The fruit is hugely consumed and a good amount is also being exported to the Middle East and European Union in raw form, he said.
Production of the fruit is increasing at a rate of around 3.0 per cent a year, he added.
Even after meeting domestic and export demands, 45 per cent of the national fruit are being wasted every year, he said.
SM Zahangir, president of Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters Association, said Bangladeshi jackfruit has also a great potential to capture the growing Chinese market.
The Chinese market is now dominated by Thai and Vietnamese jackfruits, he added.
Zahangir said local companies export fruits and vegetables mainly to the European, Arabian and North American markets.
"We can export both raw jackfruits and processed products to China as we've enough stock of the fruit," he said.
Vice Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Bijoy Bhattacharjee said the government was working hard to ensure good agricultural practice (GAP) considering the potentials of Bangladeshi agro products in overseas markets.
As part of the measure, the DAE is encouraging farmers to promote natural cultivation methodology to maintain all phytosanitary requirements, he said.
The EPB has also attached importance to exploring newer markets for agro products in China, Latin America and elsewhere in the world, he added.
tonmoy.wardad@gamil.com