To increase the export of vegetables, fish, fruits and other perishable goods, the authority concerned has added two new state of the art X-ray machines at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) Cargo Complex.
With this, the industry insiders think it will be possible to boost the export of the country’s perishable goods through the airport due to adding those new machines.
HSIA Executive Director, Group Captain AHM Touhid-ul-Ahsan inaugurated the two modern X-ray machines at the airport's export cargo complex on Monday.
He said, “Giving priority to the growing demand of the country’s perishable products including vegetables, fish, crab, flowers, fruits and other products, these two machines would be used only for scanning such perishable exportable goods.”
According to airport information, those machines will be operated under the supervision of Aviation Security (AVSEC).
Notably, with this the country will be able to export vegetables, fish, crabs, flowers, fruits and other perishable products one and half times higher by air than before.
Touhid further informed that, “We have six X-Ray machines other than those two new ones. We used to scan perishable items beside other cargo with existing four scanner machines. Now perishable items will be screened by the two new machines only. As a result, both normal cargo and perishable cargo will be screened smoothly without any hindrance.”
At present vegetables, fish, fruits etc. are being exported from Bangladesh to different countries including UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Kuwait, and Europe. In October 2021, 2108.4 tons and in November, 1729 tons of perishable goods were exported abroad through airport cargo.
Businessmen of the sector are now seeing the huge possibility of exporting agricultural products to the world market by meeting the domestic demand. Covering India, the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Middle East, many more countries are now adding to its export list.
Bangladesh Fruits Vegetables Allied Products Exporters Association President SM Jahangir Hossain earlier told Bangladesh Post, “Our agricultural and other perishable goods export will increase further if we can have a permanent solution of scanners at the airport.”
