IMPROVING THE VALUE CHAIN AND LINKING THE MARKET FOR FRUIT GROWERS IN QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF POSTHARVEST SYSTEMS IN BANGLADESH

The demand for food in Bangladesh and the world is changing rapidly. Driven by economic growth, rising incomes and urbanization, demand is shifting away from traditional staples toward high-value fruit commodities. In Bangladesh, additional demand for these commodities is projected to be worth about USD 10 billion by 2020. More than 80% of the people in rural areas are living on less than USD 2 a day. This spatial distribution of poverty makes capitalizing on the opportunities afforded by high value fruit production and value additions an important strategic priority for those seeking to reduce poverty in the country. Insufficient processing capacity, the lack of cold storage facilities or a functioning cold chain, and the persistence of transport bottlenecks are significant constraints to reduce postharvest losses and adding value to selected fruits in Bangladesh. The promise of generating higher income and increased export revenues by accessing international markets is matched by the challenges of meeting the exacting quality and safety standards that apply in those markets and by the prospect of having to compete with high quality imports from those markets. Some of the major fruits of Bangladesh have limited processing potential to value addition but most of the minor fruits do not have any processing or value addition. Recently, a number of agro-processing industry have embarked on processing Bangladeshi fruits into various forms for marketing at home and to some extent to export. Most of the farmers do not have adequate knowledge on postharvest matter, value addition as well as processing facilities. This paper mainly deals with the fruit status, value addition, processing and marketing of fruits in Bangladesh. Recommendations are also made for the improvement of the fruits value chain, market access and household income.