The appeal of no peel

Amjad Khan Chowdhury, the man behind Pran. Photo: Amran Hossain

Pran, more than any other venture, put gro-processing on the economic map of Bangladesh. It now employs 18,000 people directly and indirectly, many of whom it has trained from scratch

The third floor of Pran's Property Heights building is a beehive of activity all day, with workers brainstorming bright packages for products that will entice customers at a glance. Colourful designs fill computer screens with work -- either almost complete or just started. The latest design one is of noodles -- a new item among more than 200 products from a company that first got dirt under its nails marketing agricultural products 35 years ago.
In 1985, Amjad Khan Chowdhury, the man behind Pran, leased six acres of land in Narsingdhi, east of Dhaka. Initially, his company cultivated papaya, banana, pineapple and other crops that it brought to market fresh. But Chowdhury found it frustrating that a good harvest often did not mean a fair price due to gluts in the market.
"I thought to myself, this is funny; like, if you are a good student and do well in exams, yet you are given negative or low marks,” said Chowdhury, now 70. He started to focus on processing the agricultural commodities instead of marketing them immediately.
Pran, more than any other venture, put agro-processing on the economic map of Bangladesh. "I found that the key to agriculture was in processing, which means adding value to agro-products by increasing shelf life," said Chowdhury. “Then I focused on it.”
But preservation and processing are not commonplace in a nation, compared with the northern South Asia or colder parts of the world, where vegetables and other agro-commodities are preserved for sustenance in a long winter season.
To learn the trade, Chowdhury travelled to Thailand, Taiwan, India, Pakistan and the US. "That was the turning point in my life," said the businessman who bet on Bangladesh's comparative advantage in tropical climate, fertile soil and ample sunshine.
He began with sliced pineapples in canned form, and gradually came out with mango drink, jams and jellies, with a plan to cater to both domestic and foreign consumers. “It took us many years to generate profits through agro-processing,” said the former army official.
Now, Pran's products range from spices to snacks, confectionary, beverages and dairy. It exports products to more than 75 countries and tops the list of exporters of agro-processed foods. The company's turnover rose to nearly Tk 900 crore in the financial year 2009-10 from Tk 500 crore a year ago.
As a pioneer in agro-processing, it was not always an easy ride. "We had more barriers because we were in a new field,” he said. "We did not have the experience. The markets were not developed.
“We have done extensive R&D. We had to ensure good quality for exporting processed products. These were difficult things to achieve," said Chowdhury. “But as we went along we overcame these barriers. Sometimes we lost money, but eventually we gained."
Pran now employs 18,000 people directly and indirectly, many of whom it has trained from scratch. "There was no trained manpower,” said Chowdhury. “So we had to train our own people, and get experts from abroad."
The company also formed relationships with farmers who supply mangos, mung beans, aromatic rice, tomatoes, peanuts and other commodities for processing. Today Pran buys produce and aromatic rice, such as chini gura, from more than 10,000 contract growers in areas such as Natore, Rajshahi, Chapai Nawabganj.
"We still buy ripe mango every year, directly from farmers," said Chowdhury. But Pran also buys fresh milk, aromatic rice, tomato, pulses and spices from local farmers. Exports of processed foods, such as puffed rice, spices, mango drinks and snacks, have also risen over time.
Bangladesh's processed foods are exported to India, the Middle East, Australia, Europe and America. It is a recognized sector of the economy, both domestic and export. “Our group has been able to put agro-processing in the economic map, and the progress is going on and on."
Lately, Pran has focused on dairy, a sector where Bangladesh lags behind India and Pakistan, despite having the highest number of cows per square kilometer in the world.
Low productivity is an issue, he says. "We are trying to promote dairy farming in Bangladesh. We are investing heavily in this area so that the farmers in the village can produce more milk by increasing the productivity of each animal."
Chowdhury, however, wants government's support for the development of the dairy industry. It could reduce import dependence and create jobs in rural areas, he said.
Chowdhury said he had a dream that the produce of Bangladesh's poor farmers would one day be relished on the dining tables in Europe. "That dream has been fulfilled," he said. "Whether it is chinigura rice, spices, mango drinks or snacks.
"That 'Made in Bangladesh' label is like the flag of Bangladesh, and it is going to more than 75 countries in the world. I feel very proud of it. Good days are ahead."

[email protected]