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Bangladeshi mung beans are being exported to Japan. An
organization called Grameen Euglena, a joint venture between Japan and
Bangladesh, has been processing mung beans produced in Patuakhali and exporting
it to Japan for 10 years.
Meanwhile, due to various adversities during the corona
period, the export of moong beans decreased. 300 metric tons of moong beans
were exported to Japan last season after the situation somewhat normalized.
This year, a target of 1000 metric tons of moong beans from Patuakhali has been
taken for export to Japan. As a result, the export volume is likely to increase
more than three times in the current season.
According to the information of Grameen Euglena, in 2012,
the company signed an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture for the export
of moong beans on a limited scale. The company initially chose Dasmina upazila
of the district to buy moong dal, but later they started buying moong dal from
district headquarters and Baufal. After buying moong dal, it is sorted from
there and sent to Ishwardi for processing of exportable large size mung dal. Moong
beans are processed in Ishwardi and then exported to Japan.
Grameen Euglena Bangladesh coordinator Md. Najmuch Chayedat
said that a Japanese businessman named Yuko Satake came to Bangladesh and saw
the large production of moong beans and took the initiative to export them to
Japan. Although the export of moong dal is prohibited, he got permission to
export moong dal on an experimental basis for one year, subject to the approval
of the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Commerce. However, in 2018, they
are exporting moong dal after receiving a five-year approval.
Apart from this, moong bean prices are being paid to the
farmers through banking channels to ensure the farmers get the money. There is
no opportunity for middlemen to create violence. Farmers are also getting fair
and high prices for their crops.
Only large-grain moong beans are being exported to Japan.
Therefore, initially, 2 thousand 203 contract growers of BARI-6 varieties (large
grains) of moong dal are being purchased from them.
Japan has an annual demand of 50,000 metric tons of
large-grain moong beans. Cultivation of BARI-6 variety (large grain) of moong
dal has been started in the district under the supervision of the Ministry of
Agriculture to meet the demand of exportable moong dal. Currently, there are
10,000 contract growers of Euglena. The representatives of the organization are
buying big grain moong dal from these farmers for Tk 5 to Tk 10 per kg more
than the market price.
AKM Mohiuddin, deputy director of the Department of
Agricultural Extension, Patuakhali, said that moong bean cultivation is easier
than other crops during the season. Land can be prepared in a short time, labor
and cost is much less. He said, the land can be sown with one cultivation. Due
to climatic conditions, moong beans survive on the plant for 80 to 90 days and
yield three to four times. Therefore, more foreign exchange can be earned by
increasing moong bean cultivation.
|Source: Online/SZK
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