Asda will this week receive the first delivery of Bangladeshi mangoes to the UK in a move that signals the start of the country’s access to mainstream international retailers.
The news comes following field visits and sample shipments of nine mango varieties during last year’s season, Bangladeshi local paper The Dhaka Tribune reported. Asda’s buying arm IPL then selected three mango varieties, Himsagar, Langra and BARI Aam-3 (Amrupalli), to import during th 2015 season, the paper said.
A spokeperson for Asda said: “We are due a delivery of the Himsagar variety mangoes from Bangladesh this week and they’ll be available in 10 stores.”
Vice chairman of Bangladesh’s Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Shubhashish Bose, told The Dhaka Tribune: “The mango exports to UK will open the door of earning foreign currencies and will also help the government to start for product diversification.”
Mike Robson, representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to Bangladesh, said: “I am really excited to say that mangoes from Bangladesh have market access to UK, meaning it will open a gateway for other supermarkets in Europe.”
Around 180 farmers across the three districts of Satkhira, Chapainawabganj and Rajshahi have now been registered to supply mangoes, the Dhaka Tribune said.
