DHAKA: Commerce Minister of Russia, Tofail Ahmed said in a meeting with Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh, Alexander A Nikolaev, at his secretariat office that Russian government has interested to import 0.1 million tonnes of potatoes from Bangladesh to meet their internal demands.
“Earlier some bacteria were found in potatoes exported to Russia. This time we have taken enough measures and have overcome the problems,” said the minister expecting the country would be able to export the consignment to Russia.
The Russian ambassador, however, said that a team of experts, mostly veterinary and phytosanitary specialists, from Russia will soon come to inspect the consignments and work closely with Bangladesh experts. If they found the consignments meet phytosanitary requirements they will chose those for import.
The minister said also said that Russian is keen to import readymade garment (RMG) products from Bangladesh, “But, there is complexities regarding custom duty, which also has the involvement with Belarus and Kazakhstan.”
Export of RMG products would possible to export easily, Tofail said, if the complexities are eliminated. The minister, however, said that Bangladesh had requested the Custom Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russian Federation for duty-free-quota-free access for product of 89 tariff lines. The minister may discuss the issue with concerned authorities during his forthcoming visit to Russia.
The Russian Ambassador earlier handed over the commerce minister an invitation letter from the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei PriKhodko requesting him to join the 19th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum scheduled to be held in June 18-20. Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to inaugurate the forum.
The Russian Ambassador while talking to journalists also stressed the need for more cooperation between the two countries, especially in the field of trade, business and investment. He hope that trade between the two countries will reach US$ 1 billion within a few years.
