Mangoes to be exported to Russia for the first time

For the first time, a Rajshahi-based farming company is exporting Gourmoti and Katimon varieties of mango to Russia.

An Air Arabia flight is scheduled to leave Dhaka for Russia early today with 200kg of Gourmoti and 75kg of Katimon mangoes, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension.

"This is the first time Bangladeshi mangoes are making an entry to Russia," said Mafizul Islam, deputy director (export) at the Plant Quarantine Wing of the department.

Mahtab Ali, CEO of MTB Agro and Garden, said a Russian company called National Electric LLC, which worked for the Rooppur power plant, is importing the mangoes.

The mangoes were collected from the orchards of a farmer named Najim Uddin in Nachole upazila of Chapainawabganj, he added.

"We have been trying for the last three years. This time, we saw success by ensuring good farming practices through many laboratory tests, and overcoming bureaucratic tangles," he said.

The embassies of the two countries worked together to set the milestone, Ali said, thanking Kamrul Ahsan, Bangladesh ambassador to Russia, and Alexander Vikentyevich  

Mantytskiy, Russian ambassador  to Bangladesh.

Shamsul Wadud, regional additional director of DAE, said over 380 tonnes of mangoes were exported from Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts so far this year.

Russian authorities last year approved Bangladeshi mango samples for import for the next five years, he added.