A trade facilitation project of the Government of Bangladesh aims to help expand and diversify the country’s exports in food and agricultural products by ensuring their safety and quality and improving the country's institutional systems for agricultural trade. This is funded by the Foreign Agricultural Service of the US Department of Agriculture.

The $27 million project will support Bangladesh’s implementation of the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement over a five-year period with the primary goal of making the import and export of agricultural products more efficient. It will support initiatives to boost simplification and automation of import and export processes, strengthen risk-based clearance processes, improve notification provisions, develop the capacity and testing procedures of laboratories, and enhance the cold chain system for facilitating trade of perishable goods.

Mr. Tipu Munshi, Commerce Minister of the Government of Bangladesh said the project will help secure Bangladesh’s self-sufficiency in food production, supply safe and nutritious food, and commercialize the agriculture sector to make it profitable for poor farmers.

Mr. Earl R. Miller, US Ambassador to Bangladesh, noted that this project will facilitate and incentivize investment, construction, and the operation of new cold storage facilities to improve and expand on Bangladesh's refrigerated logistics network.

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Bangladesh trade facilitation initiative launched