Russia will buy vegetables from Bangladesh if given assurance: Agriculture Minister
Russian winters are very long. At this time they do not have any crops. The crops that are produced in our country including various vegetables in winter, such as cauliflower,
The Minister of Agriculture said this to reporters after a meeting with the Russian Ambassador to Dhaka, Yao Wen, in the meeting room of the Ministry at the Secretariat on Sunday (February 5).
He said, Russian winters are very long. At this time they do not have any crops. The crops we produce in winter including various vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, radish; They can be exported to Russia.
He also said, 'Once we used to send a lot of potatoes to Russia. But it stopped due to various reasons. But restrictions have been lifted in Russia, now we will arrange to import potatoes to Russia again.'
Mentioning that Russia has many opportunities to work with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Minister of Agriculture said, an important fertilizer like potassium can be brought from only three countries in the world. They are: Belarus, Russia and Canada. We also bought potassium at $219 per ton. Again we had to buy it for 1000 to 1000 dollars. This happened due to Corona and Russia-Ukraine war. Now the price is slightly lower.
He said, 'Due to sanctions on Russia, we had to face a lot of difficulties in the beginning. However, the ban has been lifted, we have started the process of bringing fertilizer with LC.
At the moment Abdur Razzak said that there is sufficient stock of fertilizer in the country, "we are discussing about renewing the agreement we have with Russia." Soon it will be renewed and we will start the process of bringing potassium from Russia. Earlier there was a proposal, but the Government Procurement Cabinet has shelved it.'
He said, 'Another one is diammonium phosphate. We import it from Saudi Arabia and other countries. I can also bring from Russia. Their proposal is good. The price is also cheap. Hope to get diammonium phosphate from Russia very soon. It is a very important fertilizer, we use it extensively.'
Commenting that the climate of Bangladesh is very suitable for potatoes, the Minister of Agriculture said, 'Now we are taking the initiative to increase production and export to Russia. Mango export is also possible. All in all, the Russian ambassador is very sincere. If we can solve some problems, then we can send huge amount of vegetables and fruits to Russia.
He also said that the Russian ambassador especially emphasized on food safety. Russia will import from us if we can guarantee safe vegetables. We are working towards that goal. Work has progressed a lot. Cooperation between the two countries will increase very soon.
The Russian ambassador praised Bangladesh's cauliflower, the minister said, 'If security is provided, Russia will buy this vegetable from Bangladesh. They helped us during the war of independence. That's why I am forever grateful to them.'
Agriculture Minister said, 'Our economic relations with Russia are increasing day by day. I emphasize to increase the cooperation between the two countries in the future. We want to increase friendship with all countries. We buy fertilizers from Russia including potassium, phosphate. Apart from this, various winter vegetables including tomatoes are likely to be exported to Russia. Talked to them about this.'
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