DHAKA: Bangladesh made its debut at Saudi Arabia’s main agriculture and food exhibition on Wednesday, seeking to diversify an export trade long dominated by garments.
Saudi Arabia is one of the top markets for Bangladeshi exporters in the Middle East, with the trade relationship largely shaped by labor migration and the apparel sector — the South Asian nation’s key revenue generator.
Bangladesh is the only South Asian country participating in AgroFood Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s leading international exhibition for the agriculture, food, and agri-tech industries. It is taking place from Dec. 3-5, with exhibitors from the Middle East, China and Central Asia, as well as Indonesia, Thailand and Japan.
“This is our first participation of this kind in the Saudi market ... In this first initiative, five of our producers from the food sector are taking part,” Mahmudul Hasan, fair and display division director at Bangladesh’s Export Promotion Bureau, told Arab News.
“We now have a special focus on increasing exports to Saudi Arabia ... Our business community is also increasingly interested in tapping the potential of the Saudi market. In addition to garment products, food and allied food items are our next export priorities, as we have a large number of Bangladeshi migrants there.”
