EPB organises Bangladeshi product fair in Riyadh

Three-day "Bangladesh Product Exhibition" began in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh on Wednesday.

The Export Development Bureau (EPB) has organised the fair in cooperation with Bangladesh Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has a huge market for Bangladeshi products including garment items.

The fair has been organised with an aim to capture the Saudi market where Bangladesh's products have high demand among 28 lakh Bangladeshi expatriates, Saudi nationals and migrant workers of various countries, according to the organisers.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi inaugurated the fair at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Riyadh with the presence of expatriate Bangladeshi businessmen, Saudi businessmen and embassy officials.

A total of 25 companies, including Bangladesh's leading garment exporters, participated in the fair where different types of products, including, household items, handicrafts, disposable plastic products, medicines and clothing items, have been displayed.

Initiatives will be taken to widen the export market of Bangladeshi garment products in Persian Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, the commerce minister said.

The minister hopes bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia will increase manifold in the coming days.

Bangladesh Ambassador Mohammad Javed Patwary said the embassy's overall efforts to increase bilateral trade and investment with Saudi Arabia are continuing.

"It is expected that the market of garments, leather, food and agricultural products will increase in this country in the coming days. The world-class products of Bangladesh have the potential to find a place in the Saudi market."

Bangladesh is currently the second largest exporter of garments in the world, said Faruque Hassan, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Bangladesh (BGMEA).

"We have the ability to export products according to the demand of the Saudi market. All necessary measures will be taken for this purpose."

He also hoped that it will be possible to attract buyers in Saudi Arabia through the exhibition.

Echoing Hassan, EPB Vice Chairman AHM Ahsan said, "This is just the beginning. All possible initiatives, including organisation of such exhibitions, will be taken in the future to promote Bangladeshi products in Saudi Arabia."

Murtuza Zulkar Nain Noman, minister of the economic wing of the Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh, presided over the opening ceremony.

Earlier, Bangladesh joined the four-day 'Ninth International Foodex Saudi' fair held in September last year along with 30 other countries.

Four Bangladeshi food production companies -- Bengal Meat Processing, Pran-RFL Group, Bashundhara Food and Beverage, and S&B Nice Food Valley Ltd participated in the fair.

Participating in the fair was very successful in increasing the Bangladeshi food export market as Saudi Arabia imports about 80 per cent of food products from abroad, according to the participating companies.

The EPB expects this year's fair will also be equally successful.