ICE Business Times, June 2016 by ICE Media Ltd.

Contents TIMES

Going Organic:

The Natural Cultivation Interviews 20 Mayeen Chowdhury

Managing Director, Khan Bahadur Group

24 Anjan Chowdhury

Managing Director, Square Food & Beverages Ltd.

40 Markus Ehmann

General Manager, Katalyst-Swisscontact

44 Syed Alamgir

Executive Director, Consumer Brands, ACI Limited

60 Sridhar Dharmapuri

Food Safety Officer, Food Safety Programme, FAO

64 Christrophe Echivard CEO, Agora Rahimafrooz

70 Sabbir Hasan Nasir

Executive Director, Shwapno

74 Sazzadul Hassan

Managing Director, Syngenta Bangladesh Ltd.

06 From the Editor Word of Mouth 08 State of Affairs 16 Banking Corner 112 Events 120 Happening Columns 10 Shamsul Huq Zahid 12 Towfiqul Islam Khan Ask the Expert 18 Ashwani Nayar

General Manager, Le MĂŠridien Dhaka

Exterior of Shah Makhdum Rice Mill

a global business magazine from bangladesh

TIMES

Vol. 6 No. 10 | June 2016

Publisher & Editor Director, International Publications Executive Director Managing Editor Assistant Editor Sub Editor Staff Feature Writer Designer Business Development

Contents TIMES

Brand Promotion Finance & Accounts Sales & Distribution

: : : : : : : : : : : : : :

Abul Khair Zeenat Chowdhury Nawshin Khair Tawhidur Rashid Irad Mustafa Shaikh Ashfaque Zaman Asaduzzaman Sk. Yeahhia Md. Nizam Uddin Forhad Mohammad Imran Effat Ara Laizu Md. Abdul Alim Md. Nazrul Islam Md. Rubel Khan

This issueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Photographs by Din M Shibly Ashraf Uddin Apu Kazi Mukul Safwat Choudhury Gani Sakib Muhtasim

Unprocessed rice kernels

Features 28 35 56 68 78 82 86 90 92 98 101 106 118 122

Sidewalk Splendor? The Cart Culture Deadly Drops Mining White Gold Rediscovering Recreation The Trade of Tourism Started from the Bottom and Now Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Here Every Drop Counts Directing the Value Chain The Return of the King A Standard Staple The Paramount Series Harvesting Success Capital Market Update

Editorial & Marketing Queries editor@icebusinesstimes.net, or send us a note at www.facebook.com/icebusinesstimes www.twitter.com/BusinessTimesBD

Be sure to visit our website www.icebusinesstimes.net

Published by Abul Khair on behalf of ICE Media Limited Kushal Centre, Plot 29, Sector 3, Uttara C/A, Dhaka- 1230 and printed at M.K. Printers,189/1, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208 Editorial and Commercial office: 3rd Floor, House: 4, Block: B, Road: 23 A, Banani, Dhaka 1213 Advertising, Sales, Subscription and Distribution: 01812656961, 01715732425, 01759391168, 01850824294, 01881925963, 01881925962, 01611227676 Tel: 02 55035336-8, 09666773313

Not all the views expressed in the columns and interviews are the views of the magazine.

FROM THE EDITOR According to UNICEF, diarrhea was responsible for 5-9% of infant deaths of Dhaka city in 2015; a disease that is borne through unsafe food and water consumption. This brings to the light the reality that hygienic practices are hardly in place within our nation. The necessity for food safety practices is imperative to attain a healthier nation. Furthermore, the exorbitantly increasing occurrence of food adulteration is increasing the rate of cancer, diabetes, kidney disorders and birth defects. WHO and FAO have taken the initiative to change the current scenario with coherent food safety and quality policies and strategies along with modern risk-based food inspection systems. However, the consumers must demand quality products in order to change the norms of adulteration and chemical alteration of their agriculture. We must enlighten farmers and sellers that there are safe practices that will allow quality harvest and livestock. The changes in agricultural practices lead to a nourished nation. With the agricultural sector once consisting of 63.2% of the total national employment, the stark actuality that this sector has dropped to 15.33% of the GDP is a testament to the necessity for evolved practices. As Mayeen Uddin Chowdhury, the Managing Director of Khan bahadur Group has stated, we must solve the phobia of famine that has been engrained in our nation since the 70â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and focus on the quality of food. Though Bangladesh is no longer at risk of a famine, the lack of modern practices of storage and preservation of food stocks has allowed undernourishment to plague the country. With 9.5 million children suffering from a form of malnutrition, we are failing to provide nourishment for the future of the nation. Food safety and security are synergistic ideas that ensure a population that there is an adequate supply of food that is of standard quality. If we are what we eat, is there any space for compromise when it comes to the most essential aspect of healthy living?

WORD OF MOUTH

/ State of Affairs

Photo session of the World Leaders at the Outreach Sessions of the Ise Shima G7 Summit

Honorable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina meeting the Japanese Prime Minister, H.E. Shinzo Abe during her four day visit to Japan.

Honorable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina meets with UK Prime Minister, David Cameron during the outreach seassion of the G7 Summit

Honorable Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina sitting beside the President of the United States, Barak Obama during the conference at the the Ise Shima G7 Summit

FOOD SAFETY

/ Column

An Uphill Battle Shamsul Huq Zahid

T he chain super-shops that are managed better and trusted more than conventional shopping outlets by the consumers, kept their shutters down on May 16th protesting regular harassment by mobile courts in the name of “food safety drives”. The association of the owners of the super-shops alleged that the mobile courts subjected them to harassment on the basis of unscientific food safety raids. Notwithstanding the fact that the allegation made by the super shop owners deserves appropriate scrutiny, there exists strong suspicion among all section of consumers about the safety of most food items, manufactured in factories or produced at the farmers’ fields, everyday. The administrative measures to ensure food safety despite putting in place a new food safety law and a separate directorate to protect consumers’ rights have been paltry and occasional.

The current state of food safety in Bangladesh is unknown since there is no strong, reliable, efficient and extensive mechanism to know the facts about what millions of people consume daily.

Mobile courts, headed by executive magistrates, are seen at times conducting raids in Dhaka and some other major cities of the country, leaving other parts of the country largely at the mercy of the food adulterators. However, such raids do only create very temporary ripple effects on the huge network of food adulteration. Moreover, questions are being asked about authenticity of declaring food items adulterated or rotten by the mobile teams. However, raising questions about the scientific basis of the examination done by the mobile courts received some validation when it was found that the kit used by the officials to determine the presence of formalin used in food items to increase their shelf-life was not the right one. Yet there was a lot of commotion over the use of the same kit at a number of kitchen markets in Dhaka city. Consumers thronged these markets with the hope of buying formalin-free fish, fruit and vegetables. However, the craze did no last that long and the consumers are now bothering little about the formalin detection tool. The current state of food safety in Bangladesh is unknown since there is no strong, reliable, efficient and extensive mechanism to know the facts about what millions of people consume daily. But what comes out from sporadic raids carried out by mobile courts does indicate an extensive level of food adulteration activities. There are laws and relevant institutions to detect and punish the adulterators, but enforcement has been at a very low level. Vendors at the kitchen markets and operators at other marketing outlets claim that they do not use chemical on food items and the crime is committed at the level of producers and wholesalers. The reports, accompanied by photographs, do substantiate such claims, at least, partially. As if to substantiate the media reports, the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI) some time back scrapped the production licences of 43 items produced by 31 compa-

nies, including a few large ones. The items included drinks, vermicelli and biscuits. The BSTI laboratory tests had found that the fruit drinks did not contain any fruit juice and vermicelli was being produced in a very unhygienic condition. What was detected by the BSTI was only the tip of the iceberg. The reality is far more dreadful since a very small number of companies, among hundreds, actually follow the standard production procedures and maintain quality strictly. As far as the enactment of laws against adulteration, the government has been rather proactive. It passed the Safe Food Act in 2013. The law contains harsher provision of penalties, both physical and financial. The act provides for 7 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Tk 1.0 million for a person found guilty of adulterating food items. And the punishment in the case of anyone found guilty of committing the offence for the second time is twice that of the first offence. The consumers had reasons to be happy seeing such tougher punishment provisions for the adulterators. But their enthusiasm wanes when they see the enforcement records of earlier pieces of legislation and activities of the relevant agencies. The government in 2009 had passed the Consumers’ Rights Protection Act after a lot of foot-dragging. A clause in the same piece of legislation provides for three years’ imprisonment or payment of fines worth Tk 2.0 lakh or both for committing the offence of mixing any item, which is highly injurious to life and health of human being, with food. As per requirement of the law, the government constituted the Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection and the National Consumers’ Rights Protection Council. Both the directorate and the council have failed to live up to the expectations of the consumers. Urban consumers are very much aware of the need for food safety. The rural consumers do hear about the issue

Despite all the awareness, the urban consumers can hardly avoid consumption of adulterated food items. If conscious consumers intend to avoid the consumption of adulterated food items, they will have no other option but to starve to death.

by the courtesy of the media. But they hardly take the same seriously. However, lack of seriousness does not make that much of difference. Despite all the awareness, the urban consumers can hardly avoid consumption of adulterated food items. If conscious consumers intend to avoid the consumption of adulterated food items, they will have no other option but to starve to death. Getting rid of unsafe food remains a complex problem. It is not just because of unscrupulous traders and manufacturers mixing unhealthy substances with the foods to reap undue profit but here are other reasons as well. The use of pesticides and preservatives on food items at the growers and manufacturers levels has emerged as a major health hazard. Laws alone cannot help rid the people of problem of unsafe foods. Their proper enforcement is necessary, no doubt. But the right kind of awareness among all sections of the population is far more essential. It is hard to feed such a large population with food produced using only organic fertilizers and pesticides. So, there has to be some compromise in this area. But the level of willful adulteration of food items out of greed factor can be minimized by creating greater awareness about the effect of such an evil act and meting out punishment to wrongdoers.

The writer is a senior journalist. He can be reached at zahidmar10@gmail.com www.icebusinesstimes.net

NATIONAL BUDGET

/ Column

Propositions for the Next Fiscal Year Towfiqul Islam Khan

T he national budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2016-17 is on our doorsteps. In the run-up to the budget, a few discussions were organized; some through official processes while an overwhelming number was initiated by other stakeholders including think tanks, civil society organizations along with media and business communities. Formulating the national budget in a country like Bangladesh to reflect the expectations of a large population with various socio-economic backgrounds is not an easy task. This is largely due to scarcity of resources, high level of development ambitions and limited administrative capacities. This piece is a small attempt at contributing to the ongoing policy debates. The following policy recommendations are mostly evolved from the broad macroeconomic context. The specific microeconomic fine-tunings are of course important, but that is a discussion for another day. Also, this is in no way a comprehensive list thus, it does not imply that other pertaining issues should not be prioritized.

Over the past several years, social sectors were marginalized regarding receiving budgetary allocations. A restructured public expenditure stance needs to be formulated favoring the social sectors and programs to support the marginalized people.

Keeping the macroeconomic developments in 2015-16 under purview The budget for 2016-17 needs to be based on the macroeconomic performance of the ongoing fiscal year. There are some takeaways, however. Recently released provisional GDP growth data, by the national statistical organization, indicates strong GDP growth in 2015-16 backed by substantial public expenditure. To this end, export is expected to beat the annual growth target. Macroeconomic stability is largely in place, thanks to declining inflation, a stable nominal exchange rate of the Bangladeshi Taka against United States Dollar and positive balance of payments leading to augmenting foreign exchange reserves. At the same time, during the fiscal year 2016-17, movements of several macroeconomic variables will need to be carefully monitored, particularly rising non-food inflation and persistent weaknesses in the financial sectorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s performance indicators. However, the biggest concern was the poor job creation rate despite the reported GDP growth being strong. It is particularly surprising to know that despite attaining a double-digit value addition growth rates in the manufacturing sector in last two years, (in net terms) more than 12 lac jobs were lost in this area. As such, the forthcoming budget should be built around enhancing private investment and the creation of decent jobs.

Keeping provisions for mid-term corrections in fiscal framework In 2015-16, implementation of the national budget was one of the weakest areas from the perspectives of macroeconomic management. Weaknesses became apparent in a number of areas including revenue mobilization, implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) and maintenance of the balance in the financing of the deficit. Income tax collection rose at its slowest pace in recent history. Overall, ADP implementation was weak, while the special ADP projects â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the fast track projects â&#x20AC;&#x201C; did not progress at the expected pace. Implementation of foreign aided projects was as usual below par. Over the past years, gaps between

budgetary targets and actual outcomes of various fiscal correlations (e.g. revenue collection, public expenditure and financing of the deficit) have increased significantly. Early indications in regards to the fiscal framework targets for 2016-17 suggest that the envisaged growth targets will be set at ambitious levels with growth rates being around 30-40%. Also, sub-par performances in attaining the revised budgetary targets for 2015-16 will push the objectives higher. It is unlikely that planned figures for the fiscal framework for 2016-17 will be rationalized further. Keeping the above concerns in cognizance, the government must keep a provision as soon as the final outcomes of 2015-16 are available, and the early trends of 2016-17 are observed.

Utmost prioritization of resource mobilization Reclaiming the lost momentum of domestic revenue collection – particularly under the income tax head – will be crucial. The next budget should not over rely on the implementation of VAT and SD Act 2012. Implementation of the Act is already under dispute. Diverse approaches that continue to inform the discourse will need to be reconciled without delay, while perspectives of small entrepreneurs need addressing in a prudent manner. If necessary, a staggered implementation plan may be developed. Adequate capacity enhancement of concerned government agencies and businesses along with other

preparatory measures to operationalize the forthcoming VAT and SD Act 2012 will be critical. Plugging the loopholes to curb tax evasion and leakages through illicit financial outflows should be a part of the policy. Also, possible adjustments of the duties on imports need to be carefully crafted with consideration to the interests of domestic industries.

Restructuring public expenditure in favor of health, education and social security to implement the targets of the Seventh Five Year Plan and sustainable development goals Over the past several years, social sectors were marginalized regarding receiving budgetary allocations. A restructured public expenditure stance needs to be formulated favoring the social sectors and programs to support the marginalized people. The fiscal space created by lower subsidy requirements should be best utilized through reallocation of resources to critical sectors (e.g. agriculture, education, health, social protection) which received scant attention in recent years.

Accelerating ADP implementation To deliver the public investment on time and within affordable cost, administrative capacities of the government agencies need to be enhanced. Alongside, the ‘mega-projects’ (for the future), important ongoing ADP projects, which are close to completion, should receive heightened attention from the policymakers. It

has been observed that some past policy initiatives including appointing project directors through direct interviews by the line ministries and divisions; assigning a dedicated official in each government agency for monitoring and evaluating respective projects and delisting the longstanding ‘non-operational’ projects from the ADP were not followed up later. One can only hope that the upcoming budget will report progress on these issues.

Correcting the administered prices of diesel and kerosene It was disheartening to see the overdue rationalization of administered petroleum prices was carried out in a way that favored the richer sections of the society. Administered prices of diesel and kerosene need to be readjusted so that the benefits are shared between the entrepreneurs and poor people. Also, as of now, there is no clear reporting on the part of BPC as to the amount of profit being made and the way this profit is being distributed (e.g. repayments of past debt, dividend to government, profit accumulation, etc.). To this end, the disclosure and transparency in regards to BPC finances should be discussed as part of the forthcoming national budget.

Prioritizing reform agenda for effective implementation The reform agenda should not be seen outside the discussion of the national budget. The relationship between these two areas is symbiotic. Slow progress for the program for change is

Slow progress for the program for change is creating obstacles in the implementation of the state budget. The government will need to pursue some institutional and policy reforms in areas of revenue mobilization, public expenditure management, budget transparency and the financial sector. creating obstacles in the implementation of the state budget. The government will need to pursue some institutional and policy reforms in areas of revenue mobilization, public expenditure management, budget transparency and the financial sector. Can these issues be tackled in a short span of time? If planned appropriately, it should be possible. The discussions regarding the national budget for 2016-17 should not end after the budget has been passed in the national parliament. The budget for any fiscal year should be regularly analyzed, monitored and debated for its effective and fruitful implementation, both within and outside the government.

The writer is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). He can be reached at: towfiq.khan@gmail.com. The views of this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the aforesaid organization.

WORD OF MOUTH

/ Banking Corner

S K Sur Chowdhury, Deputy Governor, Bangladesh Bank, handing over an Appreciation Letter to Mohammad Mamdudur Rashid, Deputy Managing Director, BRAC Bank Limited as the latter was recognized for its outstanding achievement in agriculture finance for the fiscal year 2014-2015.

21st Annual General Meeting of Dhaka Bank Limited was held on 29th May, 2016 at Utsab Hall, Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden. Reshadur Rahman, Chairman presided over the meeting. 6% Cash and 10% Stock Dividend has been declared as the dividend for the year 2015.

NRB Bank Limited and Prescription Point Ltd. signed an agreement for corporate benefits and privileged services.

Sami Karim has joined The Premier Bank Limited as its Deputy Managing Director recently. Prior to his joining The Premier Bank Ltd as DMD, Sami Karim was the Senior Executive Vice President (SEVP) of the Eastern Bank Ltd.

ASK THE EXPERT

/ Hospitality Industry

Ashwani N aya r

General Manager, Le Méridien Dhaka

At Le Méridien Dhaka, we have successfully created that kind of space to come up with ideas, which are innovative.”

Q How to install more innovation in the hospitality industry?

The first thing that comes to my mind when you ask about innovation is a common proverb. We all know flowing water breeds life and stagnant water, on the other hand, breeds only

mosquitos. So for anyone who would like to improve his or her performance, adding innovation is highly important. I would like to add the word "constant" before the word "innovation" because it's very important that one doesn't become redundant or stagnant. In the hospitality industry, we must understand that the need of our stakeholders is constantly changing with the changes in the global environment what they would like to experience while being

with us is important to take into notice. I can proudly say that being with the Starwood Hotels, we have always succeeded in listening to the voices of the customers, our associates and relooked at our processes and continue to improve better. We not only look at it from the perspective of the senior management level but also from the perspective of all people who come into daily guest contact because they are the best people to say what more can be done. This is why people should be empowered and new ideas should be encouraged, irrespective of the fact that some of the ideas may not be implemented right away. No idea should ever be considered to be small or inadequate. All ideas, which lead to doing something better should be lauded as, with the right environment where people can think freely, innovation thrives. At Le Méridien Dhaka, we have successfully created the kind of space to come up with ideas which are innovative.

We live in a time when sharing economy is getting new momentum with every passing day. People now choose to live in mansions where celebrities like Beyoncé once lived. Will that threaten the hospitality industry? I don't think so. Any new idea, which has

managed to turn heads or become popular, has to be appreciated. This kind of ideas has lessons to learn from and those who keep themselves appraised with such ideas, can use the ideas to develop their own endeavors. One has to try to understand this kind of non-traditional methods-what's in that is working so well or say, what's in there that was missing all the time from the current scenario; and adapt and adopt these new ideas.

What more can be done through public-private partnership in the hospitality industry?

There is a lot of activity and movement around the declaration of celebrating 2016 as the Year of Tourism for Bangladesh. The demand of hotels and the boom of tourism through hospitality industry are ever increasing because the economy has been robust and showing great signs of future investment. This is why I believe that there is much scope for working together. We need to figure out the scope of working together for the betterment of the sector. Instead of looking forward to the next policy through which the government can support us, the private sector should come forward and offer its insights and ideas about the market to the government to create a more dynamic hospitality industry.

YEARS

ANNIVERSARY

KHAN BAHADUR GROUP

/ Interview

Mayeen Chowdhury

M ay e e n Chowdhury Managing Director Khan Bahadur Group

Mayeen Chowdhury is an Economist by profession and currently is the Managing Director of Khan Bahadur Group, one of the fastest growing modern conglomerates in the country. With an education from Primary to Masters Degree in the US and a professional background from JP Morgan and Bank of America he is quickly becoming the face of the agricultural industry in Bangladesh.

Denmark has increased their organic export by 200% since 2007. Even smaller nations, such as Bhutan have pledged to go organic by 2020. We must first take the initiative to increase our standards with the set benchmarks from the government.” rom the pristine sidewalks and immaculate building of JP Morgan Chase & Co. on Park Avenue to the rice fields of rural Bangladesh, Mayeen Uddin Chowdhury illustrates a scenario that would leave one more awestruck than one of the most prosperous neighbourhoods of the world. “We use a moisture gun to test read the rice patties. A farmer with no lines on his palms simply put his hands on the patty, stating the moisture content was 13. Upon putting my gun to the patty, it read the exact same figure.” ICE Business Times sits with Managing Director of Khan Bahadur Group to talk about their ventures in agriculture, the food industry and food safety and security. With his extensive work and research of the agricultural field, Mayeen has come to conclude that the population must learn to first be aware of the idea of food safety and security. “Food safety and security are synergistic ideas. Food security is the idea that there is adequate food supply for the people of a given nation. This entails having sufficient food and storage in case of a natural disaster. The respective governing bodies that are procuring these supplies must make sure they do not compromise health which encompasses food safety.” He further emphasized that Bangladesh need to improve eating quality and standards as we strive to become a middle income country by 2020. Mayeen explains, “We take very low standards from the FAO and other United Nation organization as a third world nation. However we can afford to implement greater standards of food.” He cites numerous examples of nations that have gone organic, “Denmark has increased their organic export by 200% since 2007. Even smaller nations, such as Bhutan have pledged to go organic by 2020. We must first take the initiative to increase our standards with the set benchmarks from the government. We are an agricultural economy (60-70% of our workforce) and development of this sector improves our country from its roots.” Mayeen chuckles as he tells ICE Business Times that his wife has stopped eating eggs because reports have stated that they contain plastics. “Food adulteration is the greatest problem in Bangladesh. The farmers are creating a quality product but in the efforts for faster profits these products are being chemically altered by those that want to sell them for optimal profit. Furthermore they are being patronized by the consumer.” He commends the government for actively providing solutions which include storage facilities in order to prevent climate related effects. “The government has taken funding from World Bank to install silos to prevent climate damage. They are currently constructing 5-lakh metric ton worth of galvanized steel silos along with accompanying warehouses” Given that rice is the staple food in the country, assuring its quality is the first step towards creating greater safety regulations

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for our food. Mayeen postulates, “Of the 15,000 rice mills in Bangladesh, 100 are fully automatic. We must bring all of these mills into the most modern process to ensure hygienic operation, a clean product and uniformity.” Their rice mill, Shah Makhdum Modern Rice Mills Ltd, ensures the provisions of international standards. Mayeen states that this can be achieved in our country through various provisions. “We are a Quality Control team in our rice mills, who ensure that every product passes a quality test as it should be in any food processing facility.” Additionally, his company works directly with the farmers having direct interaction. “We have an entire fort from which we process our patties and we directly interact with our farmers to ensure that they get the best price. When you motivate your farmers, establishing a personal relationship and giving them optimal profit, you will get base and the best product. There is no shortage of material in our mill because of this relationship.” As a student, he recalls learning these practices from case study that he conducted on Dole as a graduate student. “They involve their farmers in the production, business and marketing of their product which allows the farmer to see exactly what is happening to the products that they have arduously produced.” There are two types of rice produced in Bangladesh, aromatic rice and parboiled rice, with the latter consisting of 90% of the production. Mayeen states, “We exported rice to Sri Lanka for the first time but considering the percentage of white rice produced, that quantity is negligible.” Furthermore Khan Bahadur is the official facilitator of the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Russian government and an MOU was signed in December by both the nations for that. “Our role is to make sure that the Russian side of the interests are being taken care of. If we can continue to fulfil the demand of these international tenders, the hardships will prove beneficial in the long run. This can only be ensured by improving the standards of what we consider as food safety.” Not only do the conditions of our country need to improve, there are

Food Safety Management Scheme A need for improved control or concern for public health is indicated by epidemiological data An expert panel performs a risk evaluation or qualitative risk assessment is conducted

Strength (score/100)

Establishment of the necessary Food Safety Objective (FSO)

Unachievable

Unsuccessful modification Ban of product or process

100 96.1

Utilizing primary processes and/or product formulation criteria, the FSO is deemed technologically feasible

Modification of product or process

Achievable

Nutritional standard Volatility of agricultural production 84.5 Food loss 78.1 Food safety 76.2 Agricultural Import Tariff

Challenges (score/100) 0

Establish the requirements for the process or product· Performance criteria · Process/product Criteria

Good Hygiene Practices (GHP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) are implemented in order to control the process and products Establishment of a procedure to monitor and verify: · Sensory characteristic such as taste, aesthetics and aroma · Physical and chemical characteristics such as pH, time temperature and humidity · Microbial content (test of the product during the process, the final product and the environment)

The following information was provided by Global Food Security Index Bangladesh is in the 89th position of 109 countries in the Global Food Security Index with a score of 37.4; the country ranks 85 in affordability with the score of 32.9, 90 in availability with a score of 44.9 and 102 in quality and safety with a score of 18.5

Consideration of microbiological end product criteria

Public expenditure on agricultural R&D 0 Corruption 0 Diet Diversification 1.6 Protein quality 2.9 Gross domestic product per capita (PPP) 5.2 Micronutrient availability 19.5 Proportion of population under global poverty

Bangladesh vs. all index countries Establish Acceptance Criteria

16.3% Prevalence of undernourishment 118 kcal/person/day Intensity of food deprivation 0.56/1 Human development index

Source: Does Food Safety Conflict with Food Security by John Kinsey

many preconceived notions that need to be eliminated. “During the 1970s, there was a massive famine in the country and we developed a phobia that the country would run out of food and rice. Allowing rice farmers to export would not only prove to be profitable, it would be therapeutic to eliminate this phobia. More over it will increase the amount of revenue and allow for the flow of foreign currency.” With increased trade with international tenders, the standards or production and processing will be motivated

towards global standards. Mayeen states that leaving the marble halls of JP Morgan Chase was undoubtedly the boldest decision that he have ever made. “For the first few months, I regretted my decision. Progressively I remembered that I had made the decision to come back because I knew that our nation has extreme potential.” He emphasizes the need to improve the quality of food safety regulations in order to prosper in a national level and bring out the potential of our agricultural nation.

SQUARE FOOD & BEVERAGES LIMITED

/ Interview

Anjan Chowdhury

Managing Director Square Food & Beverages Limited

It is the discipline that my father and mother have taught us. Nobody reaches offices earlier than us. We were brought up with the idea that punctuality was imperative. Till this day, we have no labor unrest inside the factory. I saw my father maintaining a close rapport with union representatives which entailed having concern for their families. He would give them larger compensations if they needed it. This was the time when Pabna was the location for our factories. In our organization, taking care of our workers is something that has been embedded in the culture since its inception; we are fortunate to have inherited values such as this from my parents. Treating employees as the assets of the company and keeping them satisfied are keys to ensuring better production.

We often consume adulterated food which includes toxic additives. What is your take on this?

Anjan Chowdhury, a business tycoon, is the Chairman of Sun Communications Ltd., Oracle Travels Ltd., and the Managing Director of Masranga Communications Ltd., Square Toiletries Ltd., Square Food & Beverages Ltd., Square Air Travel Ltd., Mediacom Limited, Aegis Services Ltd., and Square Securities Management Ltd. He is also the Director of multiple sectors of Square Ltd. including pharmaceuticals, textile, hospital, amongst many others. His father was business person, Samson H Chowdhury who was the founder of Square Group. Anjan is the President of the Aviation Operators Association of Bangladesh (AOAB) and Vice President of Bangladesh Olympic Association and the former President of Bangladesh Agro Processors Association. Recently in an introspective interview with IBT, he shared his thoughts on food safety, quality ensuring and the future of Square Food & Beverages Limited (SFBL).

An immediate requirement for the growth of this industry is more R&D and technical updates. The necessity of good seeds for better yields is immense. Uncontrolled uses of chemical fertilizers and pesticides have ruined the quality of soils in many regions. For example, coriander produced in Fatikchhori is full of zinc, which is detrimental to health. The manpower of BSTI (Bangladesh Standard Testing Institution) is not adequate to check the total food consumption of a massive city like Dhaka, let alone Bangladesh. What's required is stringent action in those factories; especially those who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even have addresses to use on their labels. Usually, these kinds of facilities adopt unfair means while manufacturing their products. Besides, some of the laws of the Pure Food Act are not matching with BSTI food parameters, which eventually create confusion among manufacturers and law-enforcement agencies. Even though we lose out to products from our neighboring countries having better and more attractive colors at times, we have always refrained from using additive or food colors. People must be cautious about all the foods they ingest - be it food cooked at home or restaurants. Due to random visits of government authority, the selling of carbide/formalin treated fruits and vegetables are waning, yet our citizens need greater awareness regarding the severe side effects of such adulterations.

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How was being an entrepreneur been rewarding for you?

There are two prominent rewards from looking after the food and beverage industry. First has been observing the changing trend of how women who were once left alone at the mercy of our society are now earning the bread and butter for their families. There is a large number of women are working in our factory in Pabna. When I thought of employing more female employees in the plant, people didn't take me seriously. I always tried to ensure a more comfortable environment for our women workers in the factory. Those who were employed initially actually spread the good word and now we have a good number of women working for us. The second rewarding factor is producing something here in Bangladesh and selling it to the consumers around the world. Starting from the tiny grocery shops of a remote village in Bangladesh; the fact that Square goods have made their way to the expensive shops of the developed countries is something that truly makes me proud.

We are now at a critical stage of development, and we are facing more challenges than any time in the past. How do you see this? The food and beverage sector requires the same support the government has given the RMG sector. Like all other sectors that deal with manufacturing, the demand for an adequate supply of gas and electricity is felt here, and government must ensure that. Land acquisition is another hassle for those who would like to invest heavily. Areas of tax exemption and tax rebates have to be clarified and implemented, as that will encourage people to reveal proper facts about their business. Without transparency in the private sector, achieving high-end goals will be difficult.

What was Squareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision behind entering the food business?

In its journey for more than half a century, Square Group has been strengthening its bond with the people of Bangladesh by delivering the best quality products and services and thereby improving the quality of life. Its founder chairman, Samson H Chowdhury, believed that integrity, solidarity, and dedication which were the keys to success. SFBL has been functioning with those same principles at its core. As a sister concern of Square Group, SFBL is always liable to be honest, and sincere in each of its operations and to deliver the epitome of quality. When Square Food & Beverage Limited (formerly Square Consumer Ltd.), started its journey in 2000, there were no branded quality packaged spices in the market. Within a short span of time, it managed to gain a strong foothold in the market by providing consistent quality products which guaranteed customer satisfaction. For its uncompromised dedication with quality and food safety management, the company had obtained the international quality

standard ISO 9001, ISO 22000. Commitment to quality, innovative products, consumer satisfaction has given the company a unique position in the food business.

Square is currently one of the largest operators in the food and agro-processing sector. As such, what are your thoughts regarding the prospects of this sector? Regarding our GDP, Bangladesh moved up to the 44th position in 2015 from the 58th position in 2013. The food and agro-processing industry played a vital role behind this development. The enormous potential attracts local players to enter and reap the benefits. People are seeking improved lifestyles and are willing to spend more thanks to a 3.55% annual rate of urbanization. Packaged foods are making life more convenient for people, so it's a natural choice. 30% of the population of Bangladesh is in the age bracket of 10-24 years and are potential customers for snack items manufactured by the food industry. The backward linkage industries give the company a big boost. To my belief, standard ready food habit will enhance this booming business. Nevertheless, food adulteration is a growing concern in our country. Maintaining the seamless supply of hygienic food is crucial. People die more in consuming adulterated food rather than starving. From farm to fork, food can be tainted at any stage of production. However, we also need to keep in mind that over-demand due to increased population and lack of purchasing power of quality food is encouraging some racketeers to enter into the food business with sub-standard products. The mobile food court is trying to resolve this problem. Safety Food Ordinance 2013 has recently been enacted. Only strict compliance with the ordinance and mass people awareness can ensure hygienic food.

What are the main challenges which are slowing the progress of this sector?

The dwindling quality of products resulting from expensive but sub-standard raw materials, the high cost of energy, the lack of proper food technology, and lack of skilled workers are some major issues for the sector to resolve. The unstable price of foreign raw materials and slow discharge from ports hamper production, as well. There is no alternate for R&D; innovations can improve the quality of food as well as help launch new products. Moreover, this will boost this industry providing economically sustainable products, which are also environment-friendly. Most of the Bangladeshi foods processing companies are barely able to meet international standards and safety requirements that cause slow penetration in the global markets.

There are a large number of operators in the market but its growth level is not satisfactory. What changes are required for the robust development of this sector?

To ensure sustainable growth in this industry, it needs to have positive changes from the raw material extraction to the packaging end. The prices and sources of raw materials are unstable. Pesticide and chemical contamination are the main challenges of getting quality raw materials. The government needs to control and check the misuse. In spite of the power crisis and unpredictable weather, our agriculture sector is growing. With the support of the Agriculture Ministry, the private sector should come forward to ensure further growth of this sector. Transportation (both road and rail) facilities for raw and produced materials need to be more

convenient, time saving and source oriented. However, some sluggishness in the bureaucratic processes is creating roadblocks. Unfriendly regulations are hindering growth and development of this sector. Smoother business policies will speed up the growth of this industry.

markets through govt. initiatives and extend exhaustive cooperation in the domain of exports through our foreign missions. • Establish food safety in Supply Chain Management (ISO 22000:2005 – HACCP, Traceability, & others)

As a seasoned entrepreneur, heading a leading diversified business group, do you have any policy proposals for the growth of the agro-processing sector?

Square Group has had a long and prosperous history. What are their futures plans?

The growth of the agro-processing sector depends on business friendly policies. I have a few suggestions for the government, they include the following: • Supplying capital on easy terms to the entrepreneurs with low interest (2% to 4%) and longer terms to help establish agro-processing industry and its supportive equipment. It can be mentioned that, the present interest rate for the agro-processing industry is about 18% all together. • Reduce the present corporate tax from 35% to 20%. • Withdraw 10% Supplementary Duty from all types of local seasonal fruits. • Improve required infrastructure; especially in the northern region of the country where agro-based plants are mostly located. We emphasize that all agro-processing industries should have the same facilities that the EPZs are enjoying at present. • Introduction of internationally accredited and affordable food testing labs. To modernize, elevate, and strengthen present BSTI, BCSIR and Nutrition and Food Science Department of Dhaka University. • Reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers in export, and establish better brand image of the country. • Widening the reach to foreign

The agro-based food industry is a fast growing sector in Bangladesh, contributing 32% of the GDP and generating 63% of the total employment of the country. Future growth of this industry depends on fueling macroeconomic elements, infrastructure, government’s agro based projects and expanding export destinations. As adulteration is the main threat to this industry, therefore SFBL promises to produce and deliver adulteration free food to the doorsteps of every household of Bangladesh. Moreover, enhancing the strength and skill of the organization, SFBL will meet growing demands at local as well as global markets with quality products.

“In our organization, taking care of our workers is something that has been embedded in the culture since its inception

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STREET FOOD

/ Feature

Sidewalk Splendor? By Ashok Das

S 28

treet foods are cheap and an attractive alternative to restaurant meals. The Equity Policy Centre's definition of street foods includes all foods that can be eaten at the point of purchase. In Bangladesh, the local street food roster includes items like fuchkas, chatpati, alur chops, halim, dim chops, shingaras, samosas, vegetable rolls, mughlai paratas, pitha, jhal-muri, chola boot, khichuri-tehari as well as

drinks like sugarcane juice, lassi, and lemon sherbat. The street foods play an important socioeconomic role in meeting the food and nutritional requirements of lower and middle-income city consumers at affordable prices. Their popularity stems from their unique flavors and convenience. Other relevant categories of customer are children and students, office workers, and laborers. The local street-vended cuisines also play an important role as an income source for a large number of workers who would otherwise be unable to establish a business for want of capital. According to one study, there are as many as 200,000 street food vendors in Dhaka city. This number is growing mainly due to the high demand for street food from an urban population which is growing at a rate of 5% per year. Women play a very vital role in the street food sector through their direct and indirect involvement in the business. Additionally, a significant number of street vendors are woman-headed households.

Hygienic Concern

In contrast to the potential benefits, it is also recognized that street food vendors are often poor,

uneducated, and lack knowledge regarding safe food handling, sanitation and hygiene, mode of food display, sources of raw materials, and use of portable water free from contamination. According

to a study, around 60% of the vendors did not cover their food while selling and 45% of the vendors served food to the consumers with bare hands. In most cases, the vendors do not have adequate washing facilities

which force them to re-use the water for cleaning utensils and used dishes. Some vendors start their duties without taking a proper bath. At times, vendors even sleep at the vending sites in order to protect their wares. Foods and ingredients are also subjected to repeated contamination from unwashed hands and the materials used for wrappings, such as old newspapers, and reusable polyethylene bags. Consequently, street foods are perceived to be a significant public health risk. The primary health hazard associated with street foods is microbial contamination, but pesticide residues, transmission of parasites, the use of unpermitted chemical additives, and environmental pollution have also been identified as possible hazards. A study found that a significant portion of drug-resistant bacteria are spreading in the community through street foods which create many infectious diseases which range from mild gastroenteritis to life-threatening neurologic, hepatic, and renal syndromes caused by either toxin from the disease-causing microbe or by the human bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reaction to the bacterium itself. This can also cause pneumonia, other respiratory illnesses, and urinary tract infections, according to health experts. Diarrhea is most common foodborne disease, and approximately 30 million people are suffering from foodborne illness each year in Bangladesh (FAO, 2012).

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Challenges Faced by Street Vendors

Though the street vendors work hard, their income is not sufficient to lead their life smoothly. A very few manage to earn anything on a satisfactory level. The problems in this area are related to their lack of business knowledge regarding operations, raw materials and production. They are frequently faced with harassment and restrictions, including evictions, confiscation of merchandise, and demands for bribes. There is no policies in place which can facilitate better working environments for street entrepreneurs. Many must lift and haul heavy loads of goods to and from their

point of sale every day. The physical environments in which they work typically lack proper infrastructures, such as clean running water, toilets, and solid waste removal. Another severe problem for these people is funding their business. They don't have any access to bank finances, or even micro-credit facilities offered by the NGOs, which means whatever the earn has to be poured back into maintaining their businesses.

Required Support in this Sector

Due to the rapid urbanization of the major cities in Bangladesh, street food will grow as a much

bigger industry than it is now. Hence, the improvement of the quality of street foods will be a future challenge for both the health sector and the food sector. Timely and appropriate measures need to be implemented for institutionalizing street food safety by the relevant authorities. This calls for support from the government of Bangladesh and donor agencies for conducting large-scale food safety research, in order to find sustainable solutions that can meaningfully contribute to the future implementation of food safety laws in Bangladesh. New laws and directives could be formulated to provide legal, financial and socioeconomic support to the vendors as well as to ensure food safety for the consumers. The local

government authorities, police, health department, vendorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; associations, vending committees, etc. should work together to implement the new laws and vending-zones. Lending institutions have to be encouraged to provide credit to the vendors. On top of that, public awareness should be raised on the food safety of street food, as it influences food safety behavior and practice. The study found that some vendors donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cover their food while selling as they got lower sales experience when the meals are covered. So, consumers must play a crucial role in making street food safer. Increased awareness and a clear demand by consumers for safe street food will be essential incentives for promoting safe street food handling practices among street food vendors. The good news is that in recent time some initiatives have been taken by different City Corporations with the help of different donor agencies to train the street food vendors and to provide all necessary support to ensure food security.

The writer is working as Head of Research, Training and Compliance at The Bangladesh Rating Agency Ltd. (a subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet South Asia Middle East Ltd.). The research is based on the writers findings. He can be reached at ashok.das@bdral.com.

SUPERMARKET INDUSTRY

/ Special Report

The Cart Culture By Zahedul Amin

ince the inception of Agora’s journey in 2001, the Bangladeshi supermarket sector has taken a steady and assuring stride forward. After 12 years and with 107 stores, the domestic industry now stands at around Tk 1,500 crore. As Bangladesh shifts towards the middle income status, all the subsequent advantages, such as higher income per capita and urbanization will further expedite the industry’s profitability. According to the Business Supermarkets Owners’ Association (BSOA), currently there are 121 supermarkets in the country. However, the industry is largely dominated by three major players – Shwapno (59 Outlets), Agora (13 Outlets) and Meena Bazar (18 Outlets). Once a key competitor, Nandan, now holds just two stores.

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In terms of distribution network and competitive prices, Swapno has entrenched itself as the market leader, whereas, Agora and Meena Bazar are viewed as market leaders in terms of quality and services.

MARKET SHARE: SUPERMARKET INDUSTRY BANGLADESH

Source: Rahimafrooz and LankaBangla Primary Research

With rapid urbanization, the industry is expected to grow by almost 15 times its current size by 2021. Positive economic externalities such as generation of employment via SMEs, higher food safety and security, price stability, and inclusive business development are expected to accompany this growth.

NUMBER OF SUPERMARKETS IN BANGLADESH

Source: LightCastle Primary Research 2014

Industry Drivers

The key cost and revenue drivers of the industry are listed below: so

cia chan l s ge tr in uc tu re supermarket supermarket industry drivers industry in bangladesh drivers in n ge io an sh ch e & fa t Source: tas

er um ss ns rene o C a aw

in m ge co an in Ch pita ca

per

LightCastle Primary Research 2014

Change in social structure: The steady rise of nuclear families, coupled with the influx of women in the workforce means less time for shopping. Thus, it is becoming increasingly important to have a huge variety of products under one roof.

Change in per Capita Income: Per capita income has increased to above $1,000 in 2013 and is expected to grow further, especially in urban areas. This change in the socio-economic structure has given rise to a new breed of middle-class who are willing to spend their higher disposable incomes in supermarkets rather than wet markets in pursuit of convenience and social status.

Change in Taste and Fashion: Globalization through internet penetration, international trade, and a myriad of international television channels have exposed consumers to new ideas. Shopping from supermarkets, long considered a Western concept, is slowly being accepted by mainstream consumers in Bangladesh.

Consumer Awareness: Due to widespread media coverage over usage of formalin and chemical contaminated consumable products; consumers are more aware of possible health repercussions of consuming these products. Moreover, since supermarkets promise unadulterated produce, many conscious customers are slowly turning away from the traditional wet markets. www.icebusinesstimes.net

Challenges

Industry Analysis Porter’s Five Forces Model Bargaining Power of Buyers

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

MODERATE

LOW

(but varies for larger companies)

Competition within Industry

medium Threat of New Entrants

Threat of New Substitutes

Low

High

From the model, it is conclusive that stiff competition exists among the major firms which are backed by the rich capital of their respective parent companies. Such superfluity acts as a barrier to entry for new firms. Recently, several e-commerce platforms have stepped up to offer essential commodities with zero cost home delivery facilities. In the long run, as they gain traction, strong competitors might arise from them. The present scenario is such that a customer might visit the store at the month’s start, but the same person might prefer the wet markets to meet immediate needs, provided no supermarket exists in close proximity. Reasonable pricing, credit facility (from retailers), and convenience also drive customers to these wet markets. There are also general stores in almost every neighborhood where customers can purchase their basic daily needs. But even with this looming threat, buyers have little influence over price, since they only procure in small quantities. Suppliers have a similar minimal impact on the supermarkets’ profitability. Supermarket SWOT Analysis -is a thorough analysis of the internal and external environment of the industry.

Due to the complexity of procuring different products and impending supply chain uncertainty, many supermarkets depend heavily on local wholesale market hubs including Karwan Bazar, Shyam Bazar, Krishi market and Babu Bazar for perishable and essential commodities. For Supermarkets in Dhaka, these centers act as the middle-men. For the value chain of Karwan Bazar to be enhanced, the best practices of handling foods, transportation techniques (using plastic crate boxes to reduce in-transport damage), and credit

Strengths:

1. Major players have the ability to invest in supply chain infrastructure, outlets and promotion. 2. Bulk buying allows lower costs and discounts for consumers. 3. Demand for the sector is increasing along with the growth of the middle-class. 4. After its second decade, a level of sector specialization has been developed.

Weaknesses:

1. Reliance on middle-men and Dhaka based market hubs due to the large number of items being sold especially when it comes to perishables. 2. The major players have 10-20 outlets but most of the other supermarkets don’t have the same numbers so they cannot benefit from bulk buying. 3. Contract farming model has yet to see much success even though it has been tried by the likes of Agra and Meena Bazar.

Opportunities:

1. Urban consumers are conscious of the prevalence of contaminated perishable items, hence supermarkets can capture higher market share by maintaining quality. 2. Increasing per capita income has made consumers less price sensitive and more focused towards product quality. 3. Some major supermarkets are starting to build robust contract farming models which can be scaled and duplicated later.

facilities have to be brought forward. If the assembled markets are better linked with the farmers then the margins would improve for both parties and the unwarranted inefficiencies in the market will dissipate.

Way forward

As of now, the supermarket industry captures only 2% of the market. Increasing awareness about food contamination, rise of income levels, and the expansion of urbanization is likely to have a constructive impact on the future of the supermarket industry. If the number of players can be decreased, the existing chain of operation will become more robust. Supermarkets will place weekly orders with the sourcing firms which will in turn buy in bulk and supply to individual outlets. Large scale buying will allow firms to cut down the middle-men and ensure higher revenues for farmers and lower prices for the end clients. The sourcing firm will also engage in grading the quality of the commodities. This development, along with each shop’s ambience, product quality, and convenience factors will lure customers into shopping at the supermarkets in Bangladesh. The large portion of customers, who are generally more price sensitive, will then see an added incentive to shop at the city’s finest stores.

Threats:

1. Political unrest and disruption from law enforcement agencies hamper the supply chain and cost competitiveness. 2. Rapidly increasing real-estate costs will hinder supermarket expansion plans. 3. Supermarkets’ market share constitutes only 2% of the total market. Intense price competition among existing players may hamper sector growth.

The article is based on findings and data from LightCastle Partners’ research conducted in 2014. Zahedul Amin is a Co-founder and Director of Strategy at LightCastle Partners. He can be reached at zahedul.amin@lightcastlebd.com

KATALYSTSWISSCONTACT

/ Interview

Markus Ehmann

General Manager, Katalyst-Swisscontact

Markus Ehmann has been the General Manager of Katalyst-Swisscontact, one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest market development projects, since January 2014. Katalyst is co-funded by the UK Government, SDC and Danida, and implemented by Swisscontact under the umbrella of the Ministry of Commerce, Government of Bangladesh. Markus is an experienced development professional, having worked in the sector for almost two decades. He has been involved in market development projects across Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe with workstations at Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, GIZ, GFA Consulting Group, and Swisscontact.

The goal of Katalyst is to help small and poor farmers increase their incomes and improve their livelihoods. To achieve this, we provide farmers with better access to markets through an approach we call Inclusive Business. What this means is that rather than giving out direct aid to farmers, we develop innovative, viable business models in which private companies provide quality inputs, products, services and information to the farmers or they employ them in their companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s value chain as entrepreneurs, distributors and producers. On the demand side, the companies are able to tap into new sales markets by generating loyal customers among small and poor farmers. On the supply side, they can effectively enhance their value chain by engaging small farmers. The philosophy behind this market development approach is that we believe that low-income populations like small farmers do not need to be passive aid recipients. At the opposite end, we see them as customers and entrepreneurs who can realise their full potential and lift themselves out of poverty once they are properly integrated in the markets. Ultimately, we want to contribute to eradicate poverty across Bangladesh on its way to become a middle-income country.

How can Bangladesh realise its full potential to become a middle-income country by 2021?

The agriculture sector plays an important role in order to achieve this goal. Agriculture is the largest employment sector in the country and comprises about 16% of the GDP. But the productivity of the agriculture sector is way behind its potential. It is constrained by challenges that include the continuing degradation of soil, population growth, climate change, lack of knowledge on modern cultivation methods, unfair pricing of produces, and insufficient investment in research, to name just a few obstacles. The Bangladeshi Government is aware of these issues and has implemented a number of policies to help increase productivity of the agriculture sector. We need to further strengthen and complement these efforts in order to increase productivity of and income-opportunities for farmers across Bangladesh in order to make the agriculture sector a key pillar for the achievement of the Vision

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2021.

How exactly is Katalyst contributing to achieve the Vision 2021, and what is the social impact of your project in Bangladesh? A key challenge here is to make sure that small and poor farmers can benefit from future economic growth and development. To nurture a more inclusive kind of economic growth, the private sector needs to have proper guidance and incentives. Thus we at Katalyst play a facilitative role by working together with the private sector and sharing our know-how in order to develop new business opportunities that benefit both businesses and small farmers. I would say that our work really has made a difference in making agriculture markets work better for the poor. Till phase 2 of our project, we have benefited 2.36 million farmers and their income has increased by $295 million. By 2017, we want to reach an additional 1.43 million farmers and small and medium enterprises, increasing their income by $260 million. This of course in turn is accelerating inclusive economic growth.

Can you give us a concrete example of your work and how it has impacted your beneficiaries?

Our intervention to introduce quality seed mini-packets is a great example that shows how we integrate small and poor farmers in markets and help them to increase their incomes. In order to break out of the cycle of poverty, small vegetable farmers need access to high-quality seeds that improve their yields. But private seed companies usually only target medium- and large-scale farmers. They sell quality seeds at a rather high price and in large packets. This exceeds the investment capabilities as well as the requirements of small farmers. Consequently, we were thinking of how to provide small farmers with access to quality seed at an affordable price and with the quantity they need for their small

lands. Initially, the idea of selling quality vegetable seeds in mini-packets seemed almost too simple, yet it was a risky concept for seed companies. So we conducted extensive market research which demonstrated that despite the perceived risks, there was a clear demand and supply gap for quality seeds among small farmers. Through detailed strategic planning sessions, development of business plans and confidence-building measures, we were able to convince two private seed companies that they could sell quality seeds to an untapped market of farmers if they were appropriately sized and priced. This has resulted in the introduction of quality seeds in mini-packets that are now being sold at local shops across the country at affordable prices. In one year alone, $14 million worth of additional vegetables were produced, resulting in increased agriculture productivity and greater food security in Bangladesh.

How are you working together with the public sector of Bangladesh?

Our approach identifies why farmers arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t as productive as they should be and what roadblocks they are facing. The government of course has an important function here as it sets the regulatory framework and adopts relevant policies. We always try to figure out where and how regulatory changes can help farmers and consult accordingly with the Government. For instance, our policy recommendation on bio-pesticides contributed to the amendment of the 1985 Pesticide Act and introduced cost-effective and eco-friendly bio-pesticides in Bangladesh. An important part of our job is also to bring the private and public sector together, which has the potential to create new, innovative solutions to further complement the governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important role in the agriculture sector. Our Local Agri-business Network for instance helps public extension officers to fulfil their role more effectively through a closer collaboration with the private sector. Overall, we regularly exchange our views with relevant government departments

and advocate policies that help to create and strengthen an enabling environment that helps businesses to thrive and farmers to flourish.

You have worked in many countries around the world. What are your most memorable experiences and how would you compare these with your work in Bangladesh?

One of my most memorable experiences was building up an organic value chain in Kyrgyzstan, directly linked into the European Market. With a tremendous spirit and effort, organic agriculture got introduced into the country. About 1,000 farmer households got direct support, local institutions were established, and legal frameworks and certifications were initiated by the project. But at the end, only a very limited number of farmers progressed on their way out of poverty. In Bangladesh, Katalyst has learned from such experiences and does work differently, not providing direct support to farmers but working with and through companies and government institutions and thereby reaching out to much more farmers that are now paving their own way out of poverty.

The philosophy behind this market development approach is that we believe that low-income populations like small farmers do not need to be passive aid recipients.

ACI LIMITED

/ Interview

Syed Alamgir

Executive Director, Consumer Brands, ACI Limited

Q Syed Alamgir joined ACI Limited as the Executive Director of Consumer Brands in January, 1998. Under his leadership, the company entered into many avenues of consumer products and achieved tremendous success in reaching millions of households with daily necessity items in the course of time. Syed obtained his MBA degree from the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka. Syed has made a name for himself thanks to his successful retail initiatives. This includes soap, edible oil, salt, mosquito coil, insect spray and antiseptics, all of which became market leaders in Bangladesh. His latest work on the food and flour category under the brand name "Pure" has already been a great success in a highly competitive market. ACI Pure Salt received Best Brand Award for five consecutive years including 2015. Syed is popular in the marketing arena for his pioneering ideology of "Halal products". His proposition of 100% Halal Soap was highly applauded by the consumers at large. This positioning of the idea has been included as a case study in the text book "Principles of Marketing" authored by Dr. Philip Kotler.

ACI is actively involved in development of agricultural sector, from developing soil and seed to ploughing and harvesting. This is helping millions of our farmers produce more crops from limited resources, helping our nation to be self-sufficient in food production.â&#x20AC;? ACI (Advanced Chemicals Industries Limited) has remained an active proponent of the Agricultural sector. What was ACI's vision behind entering the food business?

Agriculture remains the most important sector of Bangladesh employing 47% of the labor force of our country and contributing 16% to our GDP. Over the years, the cultivable land of Bangladesh has decreased but the yield of agricultural output has increased. Currently Bangladesh is producing above 4 ton cereals per hectare land, where with the help of modern technology and scientific approaches, it is possible to multiply the yield. For this reason, ACI is actively involved in development of agricultural sector, from developing soil and seed to ploughing and harvesting. This is helping millions of our farmers produce more crops from limited resources, helping our nation to be self-sufficient in food production. We observed numerous issues in the food business like the lack of regulations on the quality and purity of the available food items in the market, and no control on the price or availability. For instance, there are reports that chilli powder is mixed with chemicals, dyes and powdered bricks. In addition to products that are altered with chemicals, there are many foods that are sold beyond their expiry dates. We felt the need to provide our nation with Pure and Nutritious food items and extend the same quality and assurance of ACI, which has earned the unparalleled trust and support of the consumers. Therefore, we introduced our food items under the brand â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pureâ&#x20AC;?, with the promise to provide dirt and adulteration free food items in hygienic packaging, with the appropriate pricing. We are extremely conscious of the fact that nourishment and health go hand in hand. With our food business, we are ensuring proper development and nourishment of our countrymen and most importantly, our future generation. We envision a healthy and brilliant nation and we are working towards it.

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ACI has a strong presence in the food industry, from production to consumption. What are your thoughts regarding the prospects of this sector?

The food industry has huge prospects. We still do not have enough modernized agro-processing industries. We need to build more of these agro-processing industries through technical collaborations. We have setup our flour factory with technological collaborations with Germany and now we have setup our rice processing plant with the same collaboration. We have achieved self-sufficiency in the food sector and now we can produce excess food items which we can process, preserve, distribute or export. So more investment and technical collaboration is now required for the development of this sector. Agro-processing can be the next big sector after RMG for Bangladesh, so the initiatives for the development of this sector must be made a priority.

Adulteration has become a significant problem in regards to food safety. What can be done to alleviate this problem?

We must include food safety standards and food quality into a set curriculum in order to educate both the general population and the producers. If the consumer is educated regarding the quality of products they are consuming, they will demand a quality product that is free of chemicals. We must positively motivate the market towards this trend, allowing for the producers to only grow a product that does not have to be altered in any manner. Fortunately, globalization and the internet have allowed information to be more readily and easily available, making our consumers more conscious. Moreover, stricter regulations and punishments needs to be enforced by law to the persons and the organizations involved in producing or selling adulterated food items, so that people can understand the seriousness and stop participating in these kinds of wrongdoings.

What are the main challenges that are slowing the progress of this sector?

There are only a few large companies involved in the food and food processing industry; we need more large companies to get involved in this sector. Also, our agriculture and agro-processing practices are still very primitive. Modernization and mechanization are costly and require further development of knowledge and skills to be implemented properly. These are the big challenges we need to overcome; we need more organizations and funding to be involved for the development of this sector, so that we can produce superior output in large volumes so that the sector can become more profitable and attractive.

What has been your experience in creating a brand and retaining quality and success?

I am fortunate to have the firsthand experience in developing numerous successful brands throughout my career. The need for a new brand comes from a deep understanding of the consumer and the market. I believe that the right quality, packaging, price, availability and promotion give a brand the access to enter into people’s mind. A brand can only sustain itself if it lives in people’s heart, not on the shelves. I have earned the trust of the consumers by giving them the best possible quality in each brand.

What are ACI’s future plans?

At ACI, we are engaged in a noble cause to enrich the quality of life for people. We will go into more business areas where development is required for our country and our people and we try our best to take leadership positions, just like the businesses where we currently operate. We plan to develop more industries and create more employment where possible. We believe in giving back to the society as the society is helping us with consistent support for our businesses.

“We must include food safety standards and food quality into a set curriculum in order to educate both the general population and the producers.

GOING ORGANIC

/ Feature

The Natural Cultivation By Shaikh Ashfaque Zaman

In a time when the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and steroids have become a prequisite for farming of any produce, dairy products or livestock; the value for quality products has dwindled. Given that the consumption of one apple can contain 25 chemicals, are we ever really having a truly pure product? According to International Federation of Agricultural Movement (IFOAM), as of 2014 organic farming has become a USD $40 billion industry, with 2.3 million organic producers and 43.7 million hectares of land. The demand to produce a product without chemicals is continually growing. ICE Business Times speaks to the companies and minds that are bringing the appetite for the organic back into the Bangladeshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market.

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Photograph: Kazi Mukul

Shasya Prabartana

n 1962, the U.S. had set an embargo on Cuba, a time in which the island nation would produce copious amounts of the finest quality tobacco and was dependant on imports for sustenance. Shahid Hussain Shamim, the Director of Prabartana and ShasyaPrabartana, was astonished by how the Cubans prevailed under

these circumstances. “They were a country that had 8 tractors per hector of land so you can imagine the chemical incorporations. Fidel Castro brought in 48 scientists and within 18 months, they had become self-sufficient in terms of agricultural production.” Shahid and his organization want

organic farming to be recognized as an advanced science that agriculturalists apply from their research in order to produce the best optimal crops. Following the monsoon of 1988, they extensively conducted studies on how to create the most solvent with the organic techniques. “We applied the theory that our own people must eat first. The farmers that we work with must first feed themselves and then their surplus is sold to us.” There is an emphasis on export with the drive for greater profit without a

If we look at shrimp recently, it has been exorbitantly cultivated for the purpose of export and this created a monoculture. Creation of such monoculture destroyed the ecological system that is in place and depletes the natural biodiversity.”

Shahid Hussain Shamim

Director, Prabartana and ShasyaPrabartana

focus on the nourishment of the local population. “If we look at shrimp recently, it has been exorbitantly cultivated for the purpose of export and this created a monoculture. Creation of such monocultures destroy the ecological system that is in place and depletes the natural biodiversity.” He strongly suggests that we must stop introducing chemicals and hormones because with organic methods the good bacteria and parasites will allow for the greatest harvest. “The trend goes beyond what you are consuming. Nourishment of a population will encourage technological and economical aspects. The scarcity of small fish for the local population denies them of vitamins necessary for good eyesight. In turn, this stops crafts such as muslin weaving. The crafts have already dwindled into an altered version of its original art,” postulates Shahid. He states that the uses of chemicals are responsible for the increased health problems. “Rangpur produces neel (Indigo dye) which naturally enhances the soil with organic

nitrogen. Following the harvest of neel, they cultivate tobacco, so heavily sprayed that it creates a layer of fog. The most prosperous businesses in the area are pharmaceutical companies because the local population faces ailments from these very chemicals.” He highlights that there are problems with the authorities. “Our government must take the first initiative like nations such as Bhutan have. We had 47 varieties of eggplants within the country; therefore I do not see why there are efforts to introduce a newer BT bringal, which is genetically modified. We must depend on our local crops.” In this context, the farmers associated with ShasyaPrabartanaare only producing crops that come from organic seeds, a policy they state as ‘seeds are sovereign’, that ensure the optimal crops. “The consumer is the most significantly responsible for these chemically altered products. They create the trend and we have become a nation that judges food with our eyes. If you want to purchase a watermelon based on how red it is in color, you are encouraging the seller to inject color for a desirable product.” Shahid encourages the general public to be knowledgeable and stop these adulteration trends by simply shopping smarter and refusing to buy products that have been altered. “If the customer demands an all natural product without focus on aesthetics, the retailers will be forced to follow that trend. Simply discarding altered products as it enters the market or the city is not the solution.” Shahid does not look to large organic manufacturers such as Whole Food for inspiration; “The Japanese farmer, Mr. Murakami, has followed the model of permaculture within Japan in which he supplies and harvest enough food for the land. We have such rich soil and water supplies with our geographic location in the Bay of Bengal that our local market is enough to keep a flourishing economy. Additionally, he infers that organic culture can prosper within our nation and create a sector of Eco-tourism. “We have had tourists from Japan and Canada come to our nation in order to study the richness of the soil; going organic and maintaining quality standards will allows this form of tourism to become economically beneficial.” With the endeavors to expand to the richness of the honey of Sundarban and dried fruits to an international market, Prabartana is one of the pioneers of the organic potential of the nation. They have and continue to remain a brand that is definitively recognized, proving that the all-natural product will prevail in a survivalist economy.

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Photograph: Kazi Mukul

Bangladesh Organic Products Manufacturers Association (BOPMA)

s a young child, Abdus Salam, the President of BOPMA, recalls buying a hilsha for 3 taka, “I would have to hold it up because it would drag against the ground.” He further elaborates that the price of hilsha should have only doubled considering the population increase. “Unfortunately that hilsha is anywhere from

100 to 1,000 times more expensive; a result of the chemicals that have depleted the number of fish and eggs that are produced. We have driven 19 species of local fish into extinction.” Many people believe that going organic involves a much greater expense in terms of production and

manpower. Abdus refutes this myth, “If you produce products organically, the production rate will increase by 15 to 20% and production cost will decrease by almost 70% in the long term.” The fertile soil contains minimum 5% humus (organic matter) naturally, organic matter that helps healthy, strong and nutritious crops. “Upon the use of artificial chemical to induce growth and pesticides, you destroy the organic matter in the soil. Eventually as the soil becomes dead, you need to increase the amount of fertilizer for

If you produce products organically, the production rate will increase by 15 to 20% and production cost will decrease by almost 70% in the long term.”

Abdus Salam President, BOPMA

growth and the amount of pesticide because your products are unhealthy, attracting more pests.” Abdus recalls meeting with Dr. Z Karim, a soil scientist who helped him understanding the soil test have proven that our soil is almost dead and it would take 6 crore (60 million) tons of organic fertilizer resuming soil health and this was only 10 years ago. “The current conventional methods of agriculture are responsible for 30% ofglobal warming. Furthermore organic is totally against of the GMO crops.” The process to cultivate organic products takes up to three years and follows a number of very strict international regulations. Abdus explains, “It takes 3 years to make an organic product because the land that is in grown within has to be chemical free for at least 3 years. During the first harvest year we can state that it is chemical free. It is

considered 30 to 50% organic during the second harvest year and 80% in the third. During the fourth year, we can sell the product as authentically organic.” Furthermore the seeds that are used must be organic; the water must be free of toxin and no opportunity for alien soil to incorporate. “We have to create a bar of land that is at least 10 meters from any other land in order to avoid any change of cross contamination from the surround land.” Abdus emphasizes the need for stronger regulations and ethical practices, “There is adulteration in every phase. The country requires only 50 tons of formalin, but we are importing 500 tons through legal channels. Additionally the feed that are being given to livestock contains mercury, chromium, lead and cadmium, all of which are carcinogenic.” He stresses the need for the government to strongly implement strict punishments. “The respective authorities are strongly enforcing that GMO products cannot be exported but the list of acceptable products for consumption in our country is increasing day by day.” “We would like to expand our venture to growing peanuts, rice protein, soy protein, buckwheat powder and cashews. These products have the potential to be grown here and exported,” states Abdus. He has been approached by companies such as Nestle for these commodities but local banks are reluctant to provide the loans necessary to create the provisions for this because the local population is not familiar with it. BOPMA is dedicated to a Bangladesh that does not need to market products with the incentive that they are free of chemicals. Abdus would like to see the return to the day when the fish were allowed to mature to the size that only the natural course of its life would allow.

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Photograph: Kazi Mukul

The Organic Farmer

fter many years of working abroad, Mohammad Mamunur Rahim, the Organic Agriculturist of the Organic Farmer, noticed a stark reality that we are consuming chemically contaminated food, also in his village of Narasingdi. “The farmers of my village were plentiful but they were not making

enough to lead a prosperous livelihood. I was aware that we were an agricultural nation; I knew that something would have to be done regarding the situation of nutrient quality and agricultural economy.” The Organic Farmer has organized a cooperative society of 4,000 farmers in the upazillas of Narasingdi and various

parts of Bangladesh. Mohammad elaborates, “We not only provide them with organic seeds and material. Our cooperative society is dedicated to teaching them about vermi-compost and the overall benefits of organic farming.” The farmers have been taught the overall benefits of vermi-compost and how it provides the nutrient and growth enhancing hormones that will provide better growth maintaining qualities. “Our organization has also introduced the utilization of bio-pesticides and

GMO products are a new supply of food, therefore their safety is uncertain. Furthermore there is a risk of chemical contamination and environmental ramifications to the air and water supply.”

Mohammad Mamunur Rahim

Organic Agriculturist

sex-pheromone pest traps because they are less toxic. These provisions ensure that the produce remains safe, the other specimens of the ecology are not affected, decompose quickly, and increase land fertility.” Moreover, the use of bio-pesticides as a component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs allows for decreased use of conventional pesticides and higher crop yield. The organization emphasizes the practice of organic farming citing it as beneficial in the long term and boosting foreign currency through export of surplus products. “There are a number of benefits to organic farming which include more beneficial nutrients, antioxidants and no chemical based pesticides.” Mohammad explains that there are a number of factors that are in play when farmers or countries decide to grow

GMO products. “GMO products are a new supply of food, therefore their safety is uncertain. Furthermore there is a risk of chemical contamination and environmental ramifications to the air and water supply. These products do not need to be labelled and therefore consumers are not aware of what they are buying.” With the progression of technology, healthier alternatives are continually being introduced to the market and the Organic Farmer has cultivated the natural sweetener, stevia, for the past nine years. “With a population of 165 million, the consumption of sugar is around 1.5 million tons per year which is equivalent to 5,000 tons of stevia. This sweetener is not only 300 times sweeter; it contains no calories, is free of sucrose and carbohydrates and a single source for numerous vitamins. Stevia is a natural substance that controls and prevents diabetes, constipation and blood pressure.”’ The organization has expanded their ventures further with the only tissue culture lab in Bangladesh in the private sector; they are currently working on promoting new vegetables such as asparagus and cultivating new crops such as macadamia nuts for increased agricultural export. Mohammad postulates, “Our tissue lab is used to clone and multiply disease free plantlets that will provide our farmers with higher yields and harvest.” The practice of using a tissue culture lab has proven to be beneficial in numerous ways, expanding the array of produce available and enhancing the growth of the existing ones. “The lab provides production of plants that would have a low chance of germinating, plants produced in the sterile container inherently reducing the chances of transmitting harmful particles and cleaning particular plants of viral and other infections. Overall it plays a positive role on the food security and quality of the agriculture.” Mohammad and his friends had started their organization with vision that the slow poisoning that was being induced by the poor nature of crops would cease to exist. They are dedicated to stopping the disease state induced by unhealthy produce, increasing farmer productivity through organic farming and introducing new products to increase the agricultural economy of the nation. Disclaimer: All the views and opinions expressed in this article belong to Mohammad Mamunur Rahim. He can be reached at mmrahim@yahoo.com

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Photograph: Sakib Muhtasim

Dhaka Dough

pon a 4 month cycle tour of the pristine, wintry lands from Alaska to Toronto, the creators of Dhaka Dough stopped upon a quaint café in Winnipeg called Stella. “The store captivated us with its simplicity. They were a flourishing café, using only the products of the

local market. It truly became the highlight of our entire trip and inspired us to utilize the potential of our land.” Dhaka Dough prides itself in the all-natural product that is produced in our land and the rustic look further enhances their endeavor to go back to the organic

roots of Bangladesh. “We have become a culture that is more concerned with the aesthetic appeal of the product. Very few consumers are concerned or allowed to taste or see the actual products” states the creators of Dhaka Dough. “The customer should have an interactive experience with the product and use all of their senses before their purchase.” The creators have generated an atmosphere that is both environmentally friendly and

There is a necessity to focus on the products within our own nation. Given the rich variety of local products and fertility of our land, we don’t understand the increasing demand for imported goods.”

Dhaka Dough Organic Spices and Seeds

completely focused on the potential of the local market. They have faced a number of challenges when it comes to selling their products because of the pricing. “Hypothetically, if a product cost 30 taka/kg, we cannot sell it for 40 taka/kg because there is a manufacturing cost. Our prices are seasonal and they are in accordance to the quality of product that you’re purchasing.” They emphasize that their products are not exorbitantly priced because the profit that the farmer is receiving creates a healthier cycle; increasing the profits of the farmers will automatically bring in the incentive to produce a better quality product. “Our chili powder may 1,300 taka/kg because there are no seeds when we ground the final product.And seeds are the major contributor of the mass of any chili.” “There is a necessity to

focus on the products within our own nation. Given the rich variety of local products and fertility of our land, we don’t understand the increasing demand for imported goods.” They cite the example of rice as a commodity that is abundant in our country but is still being imported. “We strive to use local seeds and only collect from local harvesters because importing a product is an investment to a foreign nation. It takes away from the agricultural economy of our nation.” Dhaka dough is so dedicated to organic way, that their packaging emphasizes their rustic and natural appeal. “We refuse to use any plastic packaging because of the harmful nature. When we decided to package our honey within wooden jars, it served multiple purposes. The package is extremely distinctive; it contains beeswax which preserves the taste of the product and provides wood carvers with a source of income, siphoning the revenue throughout the country.” The idea of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is that they will provide for the greater needs of through cheaper facilitation. “The penetration of these products is not well known. We are essentially interrupting the naturally fertile ecology of our country. This is causing greater damage to the availability of nourishment to Bangladesh.” Once entering their shop, the signature stamp Dhaka Dough on their products does not simply leave a visual impression. It is an experience of the unique potential of the local products of this lush nation.

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USE OF FORMALIN

/ By the Numbers

The consumption of fish has always been an essential part of the Bangladeshi culture. Currying, frying and fermenting of this commodity is a staple during our everyday meals. Our location upon the Bay of Bengal allows for an access to a rich channel of river and oceanic fish. We look forward to monsoon months when the freshest hilsha will arrive, preserving them with spices and salt in clay pots. However, a detrimental practice of preserving fish has emerged. The practice of using formalin is hampering the quality of this marine ecology. Considering the water and fat free amino acids in fish, it is more susceptible to spoilage by microorganisms and biochemical reaction. In an attempt in increase shelf life and reduce spoilage, formalin is commonly added or sprayed on the fish while being transported to the market. Formalin is a very reactive liquid form of formaldehyde; upon entering the body, it is converted to formic acid. The

Deadly Drops effects of formic acid lead to a rise in blood acidity, slow breathing, hypothermia or coma. Ingestion of 30mL can cause death in an adult human being; in lower amounts corrosive injury and systematic effects. A study conducted the Department of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering of Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University, found the presence of formalin in fish of 6 districts of Bangladesh.

Formalin Contaminated Fishes with formalin in Different Districts Contaminated without contamination 86.00%

85.34% 63.22%

86.67%

72.72%

78.00%

36.78% 26.28% 14.66% Tangail

14.00% Dhaka

Mymensingh

Sherpur

13.33% Jamalpur

22.00%

Manikgonj

Figure 2. Percent distribution of various types of formalin contaminated fishes.

213

FISH SAMPLES Number of samples contaminated of the total 939 fish samples

30mL

Lethal dose of ingested formalin

Metric tons (MT)

Amount of fish and fishery products that enter Bangladesh through the Teknaf and border on a daily basis

Bangladeshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Marine Ecology

296 species

Fresh and brackish water fish species

11 species

36.78%

Exotic fish species

Percentage of fish that are directly contaminated with formalin in Dhaka

100

5 out of every

24 species 3 points Prawn species

Number of defects in imported Rui fish

Number of shops that contain consumable fishes with formalin

Source: A Comparative Study of Present Status of Marketing of Formalin Treated Fishes in Six Districts of Bangladesh by Rafiad Islam, Shahin Mahmud, Abdul Aziz, Animesh Sarkar, Marufa Nasreen

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FAO AND FOOD SAFETY

/ Interview

Sridhar Dharmapuri

Food Safety Officer, Food Safety Programme Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

In Bangladesh, inadequate food hygiene and sanitation in both urban and rural areas are key food safety issues. This leads to food contamination by accident or negligence. This is in addition to sub-optimal production and post harvest practices. It is well known that at least one-third of fresh fruits and vegetables are lost after harvest because of inadequate transport and storage facilities. Much of these can be overcome by spreading awareness and education about the importance of optimal use of fertilizers and chemicals, post-harvest practices, GAP, GHP and GMP. While food adulteration attracts the most press coverage, the importance of hygiene and good practices along the food chain from production to consumption should not be underestimated. The Government of Bangladesh has already shown its strong commitment to food safety by enacting the Bangladesh Food Safety Act, 2013 and constituting the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority in early 2015. The FAO is providing support to the Government in all core technical areas.

Are you working to assist companies/ farmers to produce quality farm products? If so, in what areas?

Sridhar Dharmapuri is the team leader of the FAO Food Safety Programme in Bangladesh. A biochemist and MBA with wide international experience in the public and private sectors, he and his team work in partnership with the Government, civil society and the private sector to strengthen key building blocks of food safety in Bangladesh. These include supporting the National Food Safety Laboratory, sister laboratories and the national agencies involved in food inspection, standards and surveillance; promoting consumer awareness; and piloting safe and sustainable food production systems.

FAO works closely with concerned line Ministries/Agencies of the Government – Health and Family Welfare, Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, Food, Industries – to modernize practices from production to consumption and enhance food safety and quality. In agriculture, we are supporting the mango, tomato, potato and brinjal value chains. In fisheries, we are focusing on fin fish or whitefish as they are generally called. In livestock, our focus is on the poultry sector. Through these programmes, we also enhance the capacity of the Government to pass on these best practices to the private sector, train farmers and value chain actors and also prepare communication materials to disseminate these messages widely. Our team, with expertise from Bangladesh and abroad, has developed a unique 10 keys approach to train experts, key officials of Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock as well as farmers and value chain actors in deploying produce safety measures from farm to retail. Through this programme we have delivered certified training in food safety measures to more than 300 officials, 1,500 farmers and 300 value chain actors (transporters, arat personnel, sellers) across the 3 sectors. With mobile technology becoming commonplace, we are using an open source IT platform on tablets to collect data on how well these recommended practices are being followed.

What has been the impact of this work?

The work in the value chains has demonstrated both business and safety benefits. Let’s take the example of eggplant cultivated in Jessore. Through our

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training and monitoring programme, we have encouraged the use of eco-friendly and less expensive inputs such as vermicompost instead of fertilizers and pheromone traps instead of pesticides. This reduced the input cost for the farmer by half. By following many of the prescribed good practices which efficiently control pests and diseases, brinjal has a much better appearance and quality and gets a higher price from the buyer. Not only that, the produce is also safer as agrochemical use is reduced. Similarly our team worked with poultry farmers in Gazipur to improve fencing. This may sound unrelated to food safety but here’s how it works. By better fencing, the entry of outside animals or chickens or people into the farm is restricted. There is a lower risk of disease coming in from these agents and as a result the farmer spends much less on medicines for his birds. This reduces costs and the poultry meat is also free of chemicals.

Tell us about the street food programme that FAO is supporting.

Street food is a very important sector for Bangladesh as it provides the basic food and nutrition needs of a huge number of consumers including school going children. Therefore, a positive intervention in this sector will have a good effect on the future citizens of Bangladesh. We piloted the program in Khulna with strong support from the Khulna City Corporation. The KCC enlisted 500 vendors and trained them in Good Hygiene Practices (GHP). FAO provided street food carts with utensils and clean water jars to each vendor. The KCC team was then trained by FAO to visit and encourage vendors to maintain their level of good practices. The KCC then took a unique innovative step. They trained school children to monitor vendors near their school. This has become what we call a ‘win-win-win’. The vendors are attracting more customers because of the clean and hygienic appearance of the carts. They are also willing to pay more and that has

increased the vendors’ incomes. The customers are happy because they are eating safe street food. Importantly, children are showing the way to vendors and to their parents on improving food safety. We have just initiated the safe street food vending initiative in Dhaka – a much bigger city than Khulna, a bigger challenge but with a lot of support from the two City Corporations.

What is being done to increase the awareness of food safety among the people?

Food safety is a shared responsibility between the Government, the industry and consumers. The civil society plays a key role and FAO works with the Bangladesh Food Safety Network – made up of 5 NGOs – to spread awareness through campaigns in schools in many districts and upazilas. They use traditional media like folk music and drama to do this and it has proven to very popular and effective. There are even songs on food safety now! We have also reached millions of Bangladeshis through campaigns on television (BTV). Our focus is on spreading good practices as the key to food safety. Many of them are simple actions in the household, at school and at work that assure hygiene and cleanliness which lead to a healthy environment for cooking and consumption of food. This in turn reduces food-borne illness (especially diarrhea) and increases productivity. Such practices do not need detailed instructions and manuals. They are straightforward and easy to implement at home, school and the workplace and have enormous health benefits.

What is your view of the potential of the fruit and vegetable exports by Bangladesh?

Bangladesh has the advantages of having very fertile land, a wide selection of fruits and vegetables and low production costs. Therefore, the potential is huge. The shrimp sector made a good beginning a few years ago and now fruits and vegetables are beginning follow suit.

It is important to realize, however, that success in international trade depends on sustaining consistency in quality and safety and ensuring timely supply in the face of internal challenges and global competition.

From the food safety point of view, what should be kept in mind by exporters?

All importing countries demand adherence to internationally accepted rules, standards and codes of post harvest and food safety. If practices along the food chain are not adequately controlled, then quality and safety is adversely affected and produce can be turned back from the border. For instance, there are general requirements. Poor hygiene practices by fruit handlers can cause microbes to multiply in the fruit. Similarly, a phytosanitary certificate is essential to ensure that produce is free of insects. Then there are specific requirements depending on the commodity. For instance, countries may have different standards for pesticide residues in the same commodity. Therefore, it becomes important for every exporter to carefully consider the general and specific requirements of the importing country and prepare the produce accordingly with relevant certificates. In Bangladesh, the Department of Fisheries has already set an excellent example by closely monitoring the shrimp supply chain and ensuring that exports adhere to strict EU and US standards. Other sectors can learn from their experience. We also work closely with the BSTI to adopt FAO-WHO Codex Alimentarius food standards as they are universally accepted and are recognized by the WTO.

“While food adulteration attracts the most press coverage, the importance of hygiene and good practices along the food chain from production to consumption should not be underestimated.

AGORA RAHIMAFROOZ

/ Interview

Christophe Echivard

Christophe Echivard CEO, Agora Rahimafrooz

You are working in the field of retail food chain. What is your perception of the market in Bangladesh?

Within my thirty years of experience, I have seen great progression in the industry. I was truly astonished with the degree of focus, interest and investment that Agora puts into the quality of their products. The team ensures that the quality of the product is maintained and this is evident given that we successfully pass regular internal audits and obtain international certifications. Though I am proud that we have constantly raised the standards of quality and safety in Bangladesh, there is still a long way to go.

What are the basic differences you have found with the Bangladeshi retail market in comparison with the markets abroad?

In other countries, the processes of bringing products from the various firms to the stores are much easier in all cases, be it vegetable or meat. It is a rather quick process because of the well organized supply chain. In Bangladesh, there is the issue of traffic and the number of middlemen involved in all of these dealings. Eventually lengthening the process and multiplying the number of breaks in the supply chain. This prolonged time is detrimental to the safety and quality of food products. I recently visited a factory that is approximately 100 kilometers from the city and it took me 5 hours to reach there. That means that in turn it takes a copious amount of time for the perishable food products to reach the retailers. That, of course, degrades the quality of the products which is also why we prefer not to work with producers outside of Dhaka. This is damaging for the quality of the products but that also deprives many producers in Bangladesh from working with us. Christophe Echivard is the CEO of Agora (Rahimafrooz Superstores Limited). He has 30 years of experience in the industry with international companies such as Carrefour and Tesco. This includes 16 years of Board Level experience as Chief Commercial Office, COO and CEO. From his immediate past stint, Christophe served as the food and then non-food Commercial Director of Tesco in Thailand.

Has the awareness of the people in Bangladesh regarding quality of the products improved?

I believe that the local customers are becoming much more aware of the products that they are purchasing. Nevertheless, I believe that modern retailers can do better and respective authorities can educate the customers further. The specifications of each product are integral for each customers to know. A significant percentage of the population is

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not aware of what they are purchasing or ingesting. This is a golden opportunity to work together as partners on a long term basis to improve the health of people in Bangladesh.

What are some of the challenges in running a food chain store?

The progress is definitely slower than it could be. Progress will be much quicker if producers are properly educated and understand the benefits of growing products with minimal chemicals directly sent to retailers, essentially preventing the possibility of the product being poorly grown and damaged during the transport process. Currently, we are successfully running 13 stores with the same standards and specifications relating to quality and hygiene. This is possible because of the development of our suppliers, our investments in quality and our willingness to develop our perishable suppliers.

How can we solve these problems?

We have a great dependency on the middlemen. Having less middlemen will lower the prices and enhance the quality. Improving the roads is also a priority to speed up the supply chain and enable more producers to access the Dhaka market. Retailers must also do better in terms of providing the producers with proper forecasts delivered in due time so that our producers may plan accordingly. Having regular and fair contracts with producers will bring a fair amount of safety and efficiency in the production process.

In superstores 52% of the sales are made of perishables, which require certain procedures so that their quality is maintained. How difficult is it to maintain their quality? First of all, we have a set of specifications for all perishable products. All products are checked against those specifications when delivered to the stores. For example, we check and refuse any product that may be altered with formalin. We are also able to keep the standards of the products because there is a dedicated team that conducts audits of our suppliers and of their premises on a regular basis. If we find out that there is a need for any improvement, our team advises the supplier accordingly. Our Quality Experts also educate our staff about the necessity to maintain the standards of store operations. Last but not least, each store is audited monthly by our Quality Team according to a very demanding set of standards.

Are there any differentiation in the products available according the location of the store?

In this regard, we observe the purchase patterns of customers in each particular product. For instance, our Gulshan branch has a greater demand for dairy products and imported products, a trend that is not necessarily seen in our Indira Road branch. We want to serve the customers according to their specific needs in the store catchment. However, our pricing is uniform throughout our branches. I am convinced that modern retailing is an incredible asset for the development of Bangladesh through the improved availability of cheaper, more hygienic and safer food for all people.

Agora has a strong brand presence; would you elaborate upon this statement?

We want to serve as a major force in developing modern Bangladesh, improving the quality of life of our guests and staff. Every day, we strive to deliver exactly that. Not only are we an ISO certified company, we have been the first to be certified in Bangladesh. We continually focus on maintaining international standards. We don’t leave any stone unturned when we’re trying to provide the best quality for our customers. Direct contact between these parties also ensures a better rate, making producers more open to selling their products. If I had one wish, it would be to work more closely with the authorities at the highest level so that as true partners we could put our resources together to improve the quality of life of all the people in Bangladesh.

“We don’t leave any stone unturned when we’re trying to provide the best quality for our customers.

SHRIMP FARMING

/ Change Agent

Mining White Gold

By AWM Anisuzzaman and Shahreen Haq

In 2013, Abdul and some other farmers from his village received training from the USAID Aquaculture for Income and Nutrition (AIN) project. He states, “After joining the group, I have learned about improved farming technology from the 8 training sessions and 4 refreshers trainings on good aquaculture practices.”

bdul Hannan is a shrimp farmer from Baradanga Village of Dumuria Upazilla in Khulna of Southern Bangladesh. He is involved in Gher farming which is a traditional agriculture system in Bangladesh. Gher farming requires a pond to be dug into a rice field to be used for fish farming; the dug out soil is used to create dykes around the pond for growing vegetables. Abdul has found success as a gher farmer; a scenario that is far from his struggling days as a rickshaw puller in Khulna. “I came here with my wife eight years ago. We were empty handed with no house or a single penny on us. Back then I was pulling a rickshaw in Khulna city to provide for my family. With the money I was earning I would be able to buy the cheapest fish from the market once a week. I can now afford to buy some of the fish from my own gher at least twice a week. I have set up a moderate life for myself and my family over the last year. I’ve bought five decimals of land to build my own house and within it I have set up a television and some solar panels using my own money. I have attained all of this with the help of aquaculture and the blessings of the Almighty,”

says Abdul. Abdul Hannan currently lives in the embankment of his hired ghers with his wife, daughter and son. He added, “Initially, I was a rickshaw puller but I had come from a shrimp farming zone with some experience. One of the successful commercial farmers from Khulna hired me as a labor for his gher in 2007. While I was working in his gher, I dreamed that one day I would own one such a gher myself. Back then, I did not have the means.” He had started his shrimp-farming career in 2011, buying 100 decimals of land. Abdul produced 100 kilograms of shrimp and 120 kilograms of prawns in his first year. However, due to the virus outbreak in 2012 his production dwindled, “I was forced to harvest the shrimp early and my total production was only 60 kilograms.” Using only traditional methods at the time, Abdul elaborates, “I was unaware of the virus and had little idea about proper feed management, water quality and water depth,” In 2013, Abdul and some other farmers from his village received training from the USAID Aquaculture for Income and Nutrition (AIN) project. He states, “After

was pulling a rickshaw, it was very difficult for us to bear family expenses. Due to this I joined a processing factory and had to live far away from my family.”Lovely quit her job in 2013, when their shrimp farm was bringing in more revenue. She has also received training from the same project and has been helping her husband with the farming ever since. “The knowledge I received from the training not only helped us in aquaculture, it has also brought us together”. Abdul went on to exclaim, “When I was a rickshaw puller, I was a nobody. Now if you ask any person in the village and its surroundings, they will recognize me. I can even help neighboring farmers with their aquaculture activities thanks to my training.” He equates the knowledge and the technological methods that he had learned with not only increased production but also a more dignified life. “I can afford fresh fish, chicken or vegetable anytime which seemed unimaginable just five years back.” Though his grandfather was a teacher and his father was a clerk, due to impoverished circumstance Abdul had to leave school after class three. He concludes with the hopes for a more prosperous future, “My son is now studying in class seven; I have the aspiration that he can have a proper education and lead a successful life. I hope with the blessings of the Almighty, aquaculture will help me fulfill my dreams.” This article was published with permission from WorldFish.

joining the group, I have learned about improved farming technology from the 8 training sessions and 4 refreshers trainings on good aquaculture practices.” The program was geared towards teaching the farmers the use of nursery ponds, maintaining proper stocking density, water quality, increased water depth, timely feeding, timely checking of shrimp and prawn health and dike cropping. Following the program, Abdul explains, “I have increased my water depth from 2 feet to 4 feet, used a nursery and also followed other practices that I learned from the training. I have sold 200 kilograms of shrimp and 300 kilograms of prawn in 2013. The following year, these numbers increased to 225 kilograms and 325 kilograms respectively.” In 2015, another virus inflicted his gher. Abdul details, “Last year, when I found another virus, I put some yeast, rice polish and molasses mixer in my gher. I learned from the training that this mixer helps to grow zooplankton which is the favorite feed for shrimps.” It helped protect his shrimp and prawns from the virus outbreak. He adds, “This year, I sold approximately 60 kilograms of shrimp from my gher and still we have around 100 kilograms to harvest. In addition, I also have around 400 kilograms of prawn.” Abdul’s wife, Lovely Begum, was a worker in local processing plant from 2005 to 2013 but now helps her husband with his gher farming. She explains, “When he

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SHWAPNO SUPERSTORE

/ Feature

Sabbir Hasan Nasir

Executive Director Shwapno

We have a great dependency on the middlemen. Having less middlemen will lower the prices and improve the quality. Improving the roads is also a priority to speed up the supply chain and enable more producers to access the Dhaka market.”

Sabbir Hasan Nasir is currently leading the country’s largest Superstore Retail Chain, Shwapno as the Executive Director. He is a renowned Bangladeshi corporate icon, Sufi and an innovative business leader who has made a name for himself in the business world as one of the key brains behind the success of OTOBI Ltd and Shwapno. His areas of expertise include strategic planning, brand management, leadership and Sufism. Recently Sabir met with ICE Business Times to discuss the seamless supply chain management of the supermarket giants, Shwapno.

ccording to Sabbir, the first challenge for people trying to develop the supermarket industry is to change the habits and preconceived notions of the consumers to make them migrate to the super shops. “First and foremost, you have to manage the demand side by designing the shopping experience. Most of our consumers are used to going to the farmers markets or wet markets near their houses, as they're cheaper and fresher (supposedly).” Secondly, they have to deal with managing the customer’s expectations which come with running a super store. “Consumers expect super shops to be flawless which is hard to maintain. They tend to remember any flaw they encounter, so it is up to us to make sure that we minimize these flaws to manage their expectations better,” Sabbir commented. For large supply chains like Shwapno, around 30,000 customers per day is the norm. So the more the customers, the more the number of possible complaints they might receive. When focusing on the supply side problems, product availability issues are ever present. Sabbir postulates, “Ensuring that the right quantity of a product is always available for customers is something we always have to manage. A customer might come during night time to see that the stock of fish or beef he was looking for is finished.” This is where the back storage behind the front store comes into play. As Sabbir elaborates, “The back storage plays a crucial role in super shop management as that’s where we have to keep extra stocks of the products being sold in the front store. This back storage has its limitations. These arise due to space limitations and because maintaining the

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“Culturally, we are not process oriented. So embedding these values is important and this can be done through appropriate training and counseling.

quality of the products in these limited areas are difficult. Different equipment is required to maintain these products and at times, there's not enough space to fit this equipment.” While working with a large product assortment and making all the goods available at the right time is always a challenge; even after the best estimation of demand, some products might go out of stock at some point due to unexpected buying behaviors of some customers. Sabbir points out that the challenge is more in a case of fish, meat, vegetable and fruits as Shwapno sells fresh products every day. "The stock naturally goes down during the last hours of the day to minimize wastage. In most of the outlets, there is not enough space in the display areas to keep an entire day's stock. The back storage facility is critical to preserving the days saleable stock retaining its quality. Limited space to place the storage equipment in the back store creates further difficulty in maintaining the quality of the products in storage," Sabbir explains. Sabbir also highlighted that Supply Chain complexity is at its peak when it comes to procuring more than 30 tons of fresh produce every day in a very small window of time and then distributing those at every outlet before opening their doors for the customers. The difficulty multiplies when more than 60% of the produce is being procured directly from the source point. Traffic due to poor road conditions, transport breakdowns, strikes, blockades and many other unforeseen events keep the supply chain team constantly on the toes. Sabbir elaborates, "Our handlers have to be efficient and fast at the same time to retain the freshness and quality of the products up on the shelves of the outlets before the stores open every morning. Speed and efficiency are two rare traits to be found in one individual. Continuous and rigorous training are provided to the handlers to master in it." Sabbir, with his years of experience

in the field, now knows what needs to be done to overcome the many issues that arise from the supply chain management of a retail outlet giant. “First, process orientation will take us a long way. In other countries, people maintain certain protocols when going about their work lives. People here don’t understand that instead they try to bypass protocols. Culturally, we are not process oriented. So embedding these values is important and this can be done through appropriate training and counseling.” What Shwapno has done over the years is that they have learned to understand the Bangladeshi retail market. As our discussion came to a close Sabbir concluded, “What we have learned over the years is how to pull demand in from other areas. We bought products that we knew we could provide in good quality and bought them in bulk hence their cost fell, and we could offer them to consumers at lower prices. We applied this category strategy with beef, rice, and other products and this started pulling in more customers. Due to this technique, slowly consumers became more habituated to buying from Shwapno.

Syngenta Bangladesh

/ Interview

Sazzadul Hassan

Managing Director Syngenta Bangladesh Limited

Sazzadul Hassan is the Managing Director of Syngenta Bangladesh Limited. He had previously served as the Head of Pricing Operations of Syngenta Asia Pacific and Marketing Director of Syngenta Bangladesh. Sazzadul holds skills regarding supply chain management, logistic management, pricing, import and negotiation. He received his M.Sc. degree in Computer Science from Dhaka University and MBA in Marketing from IBA.

Syngenta explores PaniPipe across the country providing 50,000 to the farmer free of cost in 2009 with IRRI which is still prevailing as water saving technology.”

Syngenta has been working with the agricultural communities of Bangladesh through various platforms, trying to increase the competitiveness of farmers. Can you please enlighten us about what facilities you are providing to the farmers? What feedback have you received so far?

Syngenta is working consistently to address the challenges that farmers in the country. With our unique approach of “thinking like a grower”, we believe in giving the farmers an integrated solution to all of their problems whether it is soil, inputs, weeds or technologies. With this approach we also believe that we will be able to contribute in a small way towards food security – one of the key developmental goals of the country. Through our integrated offers and continuous innovation, we increase per acre yield, help accelerate technology adoption while enabling growers to deal with an increasingly demanding value chain in a profitable manner. Our integrated solutions for crops offer seeds of superior quality that improve yields with early emergenceand vigorous growth crop protection products for controlling insects, weeds and diseases Furthermore, seed care technologies that protect vulnerable seeds and seedlings from pests and diseases. Syngenta’s field force are primarily focused on providing unique solutions like small size packs of seeds and agro chemicals besides agronomy advice through farm family meetings and crop demonstrations to smallholders who constitute almost 90% of the farmers in Bangladesh. Syngenta’s caters to almost 9 million farmers annually. Syngenta established its Learning and Development Centre in Bogra district in 2009 to trains farmers, channel partners and employees on crop agronomy and timely and safe use of crop protection products. We have received positive feedback of these training sessions and more stakeholders want to be part of this program.

It has been found that our cropping patterns have been changing over the years, something that Syngenta is well aware of based on their level of activity. What can you tell us about how farmers in Bangladesh cope with changing circumstances in

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comparison with farmers abroad?

Bangladesh is facing the issues of climate change, declining soil fertility and water shortage. These problems have often led to farmers switching crops in order to survive the season which has disturbed the cropping pattern. Uneven rainfall distribution is also affecting the cropping window of farmers. Syngenta Bangladesh is developing a Bacterial Leaf Blight (BLB) tolerant rice hybrid which will benefit rice growers. We are also delivering hybrid varieties of corn, okra and chilli that are cultivated across the country throughout the year and are helping farmers to adapt to adverse agro climatic conditions and other abiotic stresses. Syngenta has also embarked on a unique initiative to propagate an Alternative Wet and Drying (AWD) technology called PaniPipe developed by IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) in 2009; it consists of a pipe that works as a visual device to see the level of water below the soil surface. Aided with Syngentaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique solution for Rice and the PaniPipe technology farmers have been able to save irrigation cost, improve return on investment, increase rice yields and most importantly save water to minimize impact on the environment. Syngenta explores PaniPipe across the country providing 50,000 to the farmer free of cost in 2009 with IRRI which is still prevailing as water saving technology.

You are creating greater market access for the farmers using various tools. What are these tools and how have they enhanced your work?

We have a website www.krishitey.com that provides information to farmers regarding cultivation planning to harvest. A significant number of rural producers especially homestead producers, do not get access to quality inputs, knowledge and appropriate technology owing to inefficiency in the traditional procurement channels. As a result, quality input sellers are unable to reach the producers who therefore incur low productivity. The problem is especially severe for the women homestead producer, living in rural locations and isolated from mainstream trade and business activities. The experience showed that getting access to knowledge and quality inputs can increase the opportunity for additional/higher incomes of such producers. In this context, both Consigleiri Private Limited (Co facilitator) and Syngenta Bangladesh Limited have made a contractual partnership to work together under Katalyst fund and the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Economic Empowerment unit of Katalyst aims at uses this approach to provide women with access and agency to improve their economic capacity. The market system will target women in a sustainable manner with improved access to quality inputs, information, and knowledge and market linkage; as a result they will have enhanced economic empowerment.

What is your take on the multidimensional forms and challenges in agriculture?

Bangladesh faces many agricultural challenges and in view of the growing population and their increasing requirements, the country has to continuously work on

enhancing productivity by blending modern technologies, scientific agronomic practices, high quality seeds and world-class crop protection solutions. These provisions will ensure that crop losses due to pests are substantially contained. Syngenta is committed to rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. Towards this, we have launched the Good Growth Plan which is integral to our business with specific, ambitious and measurable target to be achieved by 2020. Syngenta Bangladesh started the Good Growth Plan project in Bangladesh in Boroâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC; 2013-14 seasons by setting up 10 reference farms in Bogra, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Jessore, Mymensigh and Comilla. Each farm focuses on mainly the rice crop and uses the GroMoro solution which comprising of simple crop protection protocol and agronomic know-how to help the growers protect their rice crop, increase yields, improve quality and ROI. In keeping with its commitments, our company has taken a number of initiatives. We have set up 10 reference farms showcasing the GroMore rice solution to support the yield increase of the rice crop with 15,000 farmers currently in touch. Syngenta Bangladesh has trained 2.65 million lead farmers, spraymen, and retailers on five golden rule of pesticide application and Peronal Protective Equipment (PPE) usage; 2.3 million of which were smaller holder. Moreover, we have empowered 2.12 million small holders in Bangladesh through our innovative integrated solutions.

How you are evaluating the long term impact of climate change on our agricultural sector?

Higher temperatures and variations in rainfall patterns can reduce yields while encouraging weed and pest proliferation. Giving growers better access to technology can help farmers adapt to the impacts of climate change. For example, Syngenta is developing hybrids, such as Agrisure Artesian corn that can cope better during extended dry periods, while our seed care products support better root establishment; this helps plants draw water more deeply from the soil and use this available moisture more efficiently. Non-selective herbicides contribute to conservation agriculture by enabling effective weed control with minimal tillage. This allows organic matter to build up in the soil, absorbing carbon dioxide that might otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere. It is important to look at biotechnology in the context of climate change. Genetic Modification (GM) technology introduced in crops helps fight the various stresses that affect growth. The herbicide tolerant technology addresses weeds that compete with the plant for sunlight, nutrients and water. The Bt. technology addresses pests that affect plant productivity. There are the others that address various climatic stresses like moisture, drought etc. I am particularly happy to note that Bangladesh has realized the potential of biotechnology and the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) has released four bt brinjal varieties since October, 2013. Another three are likely to be released shortly and things are on track for the development of biology driven technology to meet future requirement.

Where have you had the greatest impact from your projects when it comes to dealing with the livelihood of the farmers and the agro-community in Bangladesh? Our integrated strategy is creating maximum impact on the ground. Building on the combined strength of our crop protection and seeds businesses, we are embracing the farmer with one voice and one face, to deliver end-to-end integrated solutions for key crops like rice, corn, vegetables, etc. Our Integrated Crop Solutions for these crops ensures increased yield and quality of the produce giving better profitability margins to the growers. Farmers have also benefitted from two smallholders projects being implemented by Syngenta Foundation Bangladesh in Northwest Bangladesh since July 2011. One is The Integrated Agri-support Project (IASP), focused on value chain development. The other is Sustainable Agriculture for Santal Communities (SASC), focused on livelihood improvement. Both the projects are being implemented through partnerships with local NGOs and several private sector companies for value chain implementation.

The agro- community is the lifeline of the Bangladesh economy, however, the agro-supply chain and post-harvest activities face many difficulties. What are your thoughts on this scenario? Agriculture continues to be of strategic importance for the Bangladesh economy providing livelihood to more than half the population. Bangladesh has yet to realize its full potential in terms of yield, processing and exports. Given the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agro-climatic

conditions the sector fulfills less than the potential yield for most crops. This represents a huge opportunity across the food chain. This can be achieved by improving yields across all crops, augmenting processing capability, reducing postharvest losses and strengthening the quality of farm produce using a mix of business participation, technology-oriented productivity growth, food processing and exports, over the next 20 years. Bangladesh is however at a juncture where further reforms are urgently required to achieve greater efficiency and productivity in agriculture for sustaining growth. There is an urgent need to invest heavily in farm research, mechanization, and rural infrastructure, providing better access to high value markets, better credit facilities and input use. There is a need more than ever for integrated solutions that use the entire tool box from genetics to all through the various parts of chemistry for tackling the various challenges in agriculture.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is important to look at biotechnology in the context of climate change. Genetic Modification (GM) technology introduced in crops helps fight the various stresses that affect growth.

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ETIHAD

/ CSR

Etihad Airways volunteers pictured at the fun day with youngsters from the Choice To Change Elementary School

Rediscovering Recreation A

team of volunteers from Etihad Airways along with Bangladesh cricket star Mushfiqur Rahim brought joy and happiness to underprivileged children at the Choice to Change Elementary School (C2C) in Dhaka by joining the youngsters for their annual fun day. As part of Etihad Airways’ corporate social responsibility efforts, the airline’s iVolunteer programme engages volunteers from across the airline to participate in various activities and support charitable causes around the world. The visit by eight volunteers from Etihad Airways’ head office in Abu Dhabi, led by Environment

Officer Luzelle Berger, coincided with the airline’s 10th anniversary year of operations in Bangladesh. She commented saying, “The visit was inspirational and touched the hearts of the volunteers. Having given up our time to visit and interact with the youngsters, we left Bangladesh with great memories – providing these wonderful children with great joy, great laughter and plenty of smiles.” The Choice to Change Foundation was launched in July 2010 by former cabin crew member Eva Kernova, a Slovakiannational living in the United Arab Emirates, and Sunil Baroi, Executive

Director, who Eva met during her travels to Bangladesh. The non-profit organisation supports poverty-stricken children in the slums of Dhaka by providing free education, food and basic health care. Importantly, C2C is one of the first schools in the Dhaka slums to teach the local curriculum in English. Coupled with low student-to-teacher ratios and over 1,000 visitors and volunteers since its formation – a large part being Etihad Airways employees – the C2C School is giving children a real chance to break the cycle of poverty and improve their lives. Etihad Airways has supported Choice to Change

Bangladesh national cricket star Mushfiqur Rahim, holding a bat, pictured with Etihad Airways volunteers and children from the Choice To Change Elementary School at their annual picnic in Dhaka

since 2013 by National Cricket providing flight tickets team’s heroes, to Foundation staff Mushfiqur Rahim. and to volunteers. The They were mesmerized organisation is also by the fact that they one of the were meeting a beneficiaries under personality they had the airline’s Etihad only previously seen Guest Miles Reward on television and got Programme where to speak with him members are able to about cricket and take Hanif Zakaria, Etihad Airways General Manager Bangladesh, second left, presents donate miles that are autographs. schoolchildren with blankets converted to cash for “The children were the charity. excited and thrilled “Education is the key to open eyes, when Bangladesh national cricketing brain, hearts and smartness and C2C is hero Mushfiqur Rahim arrived and providing that key to these joined them for the picnic. A special underprivileged students and we are thanks to him for inspiring the children really happy to support them,” says and to Leah Lane, a teacher living in Fatima Abdelsamad Almaazmi, Account Abu Dhabi, who kindly sponsored this Manager of Etihad-Athens, and member picnic for the second time” said Eva of iVolunteers. Kernova, co-founder and Director of The “The C2C Foundation has made a huge C2C Foundation. difference to the lives of so many young Aside from joining in the fun day of children and their families in Dhaka. At activities and a picnic at the National Etihad Airways, we have been delighted Zoo, the volunteers took much-needed to work with the charity over the years items, including blankets, school in helping make a difference, no matter supplies and toys, to support the how small, and touching the lives of so children and their families. They also many.” said Hanif Zakaria, Etihad visited homes seeing first hand their Airways, General Manager Bangladesh. living conditions in the city’s slums. On the picnic day at National Zoo, As a thank you gesture, the children, as Mirpur, Dhaka, the children also got to young as four, staged a talent and meet with one of the Bangladesh cultural show for the visitors.

As part of Etihad Airways’ corporate social responsibility efforts, the airline’s iVolunteer programme engages volunteers from across the airline to participate in various activities and support charitable causes around the world.

DIGITAL MARKETING

/ Inside Out

The Trade of Tourism 82

TRAVEL E

/ Italy

xposure and international experiences in this ever-growing globalized world contributes to the personality of a business person. The corporate individual is not just one who is well-informed regarding their business; they must have a sense of the world in which they have conducted that business. The English writer Dr. Samuel Johnson elaborated, â&#x20AC;&#x153;A man who has not been in Italy; is always conscious of inferiority, from his not having seen what it is expected a man should see.â&#x20AC;? Italy, known as one of the most magnificent countries in the world, is a quintessential destination in every personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s travel list. The Pantheon utilized the Oculus to change the nature of light entering a vicinity, teaching us that innovation is always welcomed. Upon centuries of construction, the Milan Cathedral depicts the need to improve continuously because there are no limitations to the wonders that can be uncovered. The ancient Romans fought epic battles, and gladiators are a testament to power; today the Colosseum

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stands as a memorable sight of fighting the toughest battles. The art of being truly classic never goes out of fashion; the Vatican museum contains 56 galleries of the most famous works in history within the smallest state in the world. Maintaining a calm state of mind is necessary for any hectic work situation and the canals of Venice are the utopias of tranquillity. Renting a gondola through this scenic city will resonate a peaceful getaway during the most stressful deadline. In a world where concrete jungles and cubicles are a staple architectural concept, get away to the old world charm of Italy.

Photographs by Mishel Green

FOOTBALL FINANCES

/ Feature

Started from the Bottom and Now Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Here By Sheahan Nasir Bhuiyan

L 86

eicester City is the 2016 Champions of England. That is a statement no one, not even the most ardent Leicester fan would have even dreamt of back on April 4th, 2015, when Leicester was sitting at the

bottom of the table with nine games to go. Leicesterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s remarkable journey to the summit of English football began on that fateful day. Bookies had already written them off to be relegated come end of the

VALUE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SQUADS

450 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0

1 2

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Position in the league take over a small club in the richest and most competitive league in the world where the big dogs assemble teams worth £400m or thereabouts. Most fans’ expectations at that point would have been to survive and stay in the league. But this is football and impossible is nothing.

Competition On the way to the title, Leicester have defied all financial odds. It has become a well established fact over the past decade that to compete at the

highest level, clubs must spend big. Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are the only winners in that period and their squads are a who’s who of football superstars. Even Arsenal fans will attest to this after repeated calls to spend big having failed to win the title in over ten years. As such, teams have spent an obscene amount of money over the summer to assemble their squads. According to CIES Football Observatory, City and United have the most expensive squads worth

Earnings According to Deloitte, Leicester’s title win can propel them into one of the 20 richest clubs in the world. The club is set to receive £93m for their performance in the Premier League. Although it is less

PREMIER LEAGUE WAGES

Wages (£m)

season. But then Leicester’s Andy King scores an 86th minute winner against West Ham to hand them their first win since January 2015 and propelled Leicester to win seven of their remaining nine games to avoid relegation and stay in the Premier League. Summer saw changes with the arrival of Claudio Ranieri as the new manager, a decision not welcomed by many, including BBC pundit and boyhood Leicester fan Gary Lineker. In what is now an infamous tweet, Gary tweeted “Caludio Ranieri? Really?” He even went on to say that “Claudio Ranieri is clearly experienced, but this is an uninspired choice by Leicester.” Famous last words eh, Gary? To be fair to him, no one could have seen this coming and Gary wasn’t the only one (see the replies to his tweets). Ranieri had just been fired as the manager of Greece after losing to minnows Faroe Island. His earlier stint as manager of Chelsea did not end happily after he was sacked for Jose Mourinho. Ranieri would

220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

Note: Leicester, Bournemouth and Watford were Championship clubs when wage details were last published. Wage figures include all playing and non-playing staff

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Source: Deloitte's Sports Business Group.

Cost of Squad (£m)

Source: CIES Football Observatory and BBC Sport

400

€560m (4th place) and €533m (5th place) respectively. Arsenal and Spurs, who finished second and third, have also spent big with €305m and €231m, respectively. Compared to that, Leicester’s spending over the summer was ONLY €72m, close to what Manchester City paid for Kevin de Bruyne ALONE. Leicester completely destroyed the theory that you need to be rich to win the league. Liverpool and Chelsea, part of the traditional big four of the Premier League, spent €344m and €407m respectively and finished well outside the top five, occupying 8th and 10th place. Even Newcastle United (€157m) and Aston Villa (€126m), both of whom got relegated spent more than Leicester City.

than four other PL clubs (Arsenal £101m, Manchester City £96.8m, Manchester United £96.3m and Tottenham Hotspurs £95m), it puts them right up there with the top earners. The prize money is calculated on the basis of the number of times a team is broadcasted over the course of the season. Arsenal were shown 27 times compared to Leicester’s 15. Finishing top also guarantees Leicester a place amongst Europe’s elite at the UEFA Champions League group stages. Participation in the Champions League comes with a payout, the amount increasing at every stage that teams overcome. That means Leicester has an additional six games guaranteed in the group stages through which they can earn increased matchday revenues from ticket and hospitality sales, and more should they progress further (Do we dare believe?) Analysts at Deloitte are also claiming that Leicester’s

sponsorship values are set to go through the roof. They are making tremendous strides in social media. Leicester’s fan base on Facebook increased by 540% from the start of the season. Global viewership of Leicester’s games has grown by 23% as well. Translating all of this into monetary terms, analysts are predicting that Leicester can make anything between £130m to £150m in the coming season.

Future So what does the future hold? Honestly, it will depend on how the club is run. Blackburn Rovers won the title back in the 1994/1995 season and has since, vanished from the top tiers of English football. Bad management and a lack of passion for the club were deemed to be the causes. Blackburn brought in famous and established stars such as Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton amongst others in their title winning

Leicester’s spending over the summer was ONLY €72m, close to what Manchester City paid for Kevin de Bruyne ALONE. Leicester completely destroyed the theory that you need to be rich to win the league. campaign. When the stars left, they were poorly replaced. Leicester on the other hand won the title with players no one knew. Jamie Vardy was in the fifth tier of English football even back in 2012, and Riyad Mahrez cost them £400,000 when he was brought in from Le Havre, a French second division side in 2014. These players were critical in Leicester’s title success. The biggest challenge for the club will be to hold on to this group of players, because let’s

face it, if Barcelona come calling for Riyad Mahrez or if Manchester Untied come for Jamie Vardy, no one can blame them for moving. It is essential that Leicester’s scouting network can pick up good replacements. This time though, their coffers will be bloated so one can expect them to make shrewd signings. So far it seems Leicester’s billionaire owners are ready to hold on to their stars. They have already given Ranieri a contract extension. They seem passionate towards the club as well, making huge efforts to introduce the Leicester brand across Asia, especially in Thailand. One can see their merchandises all across Bangkok. Fans turned out in droves to celebrate Leicester’s triumph in Thailand, almost as much in Leicester! At a time when income inequality is one of the biggest problems facing the world, Leicester’s triumph shows that sometimes, the 99% can beat the 1%. So unpredictable was their title win that betting agencies in the UK were offering 5,000-1 odds on them finishing top. To compare, William Hill put the same odds on Elvis Presley being found alive and Barack Obama playing cricket for the England national team. It is a beautiful story, one we may never see again. This is the story of Leicester City Football club. How they went from fighting relegation to winning the Premier League in consecutive seasons. Move over Rocky Balboa, we have a real story about underdogs now!

DRINKIT WATER PURIFIER

/ Feature

Every Drop Counts W

ater is known as the universal solvent; it form the foundation of numerous biological functions and 66% constituent of the human body are dependent on water. With pollution on the constant rise, Drinkit ensures that this invaluable commodity is of the purest quality. The nano-technology of the filter is made with diatomaceous earth, a natural substance that absorbs impurities. Furthermore, the material is treated with nano-silver that prevents the growth of algae and recontamination. The purifier is consisting of three elements with the microfiber filter that provide for optimal filtration. The first is the ceramic layer which removes impurities and bacteria. The colloidal silver

technology allows for the safe storage of water for prolonged period without compromising standard. The activated carbon allows for the absorption of bacteria, allowing for removal of e-coli and the freshest tasting water. The filter involves 3 easy steps, entailing washing and cleaning, water tap setting and purifying filter. Maintenance is required after every 7,000 liters to maintain the purest water. Simply scrub the purifying filter, and wash the pre-purifying cloth and micro fiber filter, to have the freshest quality of water. With the capability to filter 9 liters and store up to 13 liters, the Drinkit filter is the most convenient appliance that allows you to ensure clean and safe water to the very last drop

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SUPERMARKET VALUE CHAIN

/ Case Study

Directing the Value Chain

By Bijon Islam & Zahedul Amin

value chain and help formal traders like supermarkets while also increase the farmersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; share of the pie?

Status Quo

Food retail in the urban areas of Bangladesh including Dhaka is still dominated by kitchen markets and small groceries. Generally, the central hub for wholesale supplies of commodities like rice, lentils and spices is Kawran Bazaar while protein is sourced from beef meat processors, middlemen and poultry farms. In the absence of a direct sourcing mechanism, as much as a 30% additional markup is lost to the intermediaries. Given this high share of the value chain earnings going to intermediaries, the shares of farmers and retailers are minimized. The absence of a direct sourcing model especially for the lesser known and smaller supermarkets like Family Needs means that the total pie has to be divided into several procurement intermediaries while keeping the selling price above wet market levels. Except for the bigger players, who have investment to sustain, this has led to closure of many smaller superstores due to sharp rise in overheads â&#x20AC;&#x201C; rent, utilities, salaries and maintenance costs. As a result, small supermarkets go out of business with significant debt burdens. Furthermore, the market growth is also affected since higher prices mean a significant portion of the middle class is remaining untapped. In 2014 alone, the 8 supermarkets in

In the absence of a direct sourcing mechanism, as much as 30% additional markup is lost to the intermediaries. Given this high share of the value chain earnings going to intermediaries, the shares of farmers and retailers are minimized. Dhaka have closed down for not being able to sustain their investment with sales volume and margin. Compared to India where supermarkets command a margin of almost 30% on average, Bangladesh claims only around 12%. Would direct sourcing help improve shared prosperity across the

The LightCastle Way

LightCaste Partners (LCP) conducted in-depth interviews with major supermarkets to understand their sourcing pattern, especially for perishables and essential commodities. This allowed mapping of the existing value chain and, in the process, the identification of the middlemen. LCP also held in-depth discussions with middlemen in Kawran Bazaar to understand the existing sourcing pattern. Following consultation with major stakeholders across the value chain, an alternative value chain was proposed which is expected to minimize the number of middlemen, increase value maximization for producers, and result in cost savings for supermarkets. www.icebusinesstimes.net

Supermarkets Value Chain â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Indirect Sourcing (as analyzed by LCP) 7

Storage

Market Intel

SM Agents

Small Retailers

Land Lease

Transportation

Storage

Bazaar

Marketplace

Farmer

Consumers Traders

Consumers

As depicted in the diagram, there are several layers of actors between the supermarket and farmer, if a direct sourcing chain is not maintained. In this scenario in a typical case there is a 30% margin between the original product producer and the end consumer.

Supermarkets via this model command about 10% to 12% of these margins and farmers get about 3% to 4%. The rest of the 14% to 15% is taken by other actors just as the bulk buyer at the rural assembled markets, transportation providers and whole sale traders at the City based

markets (Kawran Bazar for perishables, Babu Bazar and Shyam Bazar for commodities). The number tag represents the number of actor in between the farmer and the end consumer (this varies depending on the type of product and trader â&#x20AC;&#x201C; between 4 to 8). In this

model supermarkets have the advantage of market intel based immediate procurement, less demand less buying and they also do not shoulder the burden of transportation risks. Often they also receive 2 to 7 days suppliers credit which helps the cash conversion cycle.

Supermarkets (Hub and Spoke Model) Central Storage

Transportation

Distribution Hub (Sorting Center)

1 Contract or Co-Op

Farmer

2 3 Consumers

As seen in the diagram, in case of the direct sourcing model, the number of actors in the value chain decreases to 3. As such supermarkets can command higher margins between to 12% to 18%; this also translates to higher return

for the farmers (3% to 6 %). The rest goes on to provide further competitive prices to the end customers. The direct sourcing platforms are applied by Agora, Meena Bazar and Shwapno for seasonal fruits and select perishables. Nandon

used to do this to a certain extent but currently discontinued (as this requires certain economies of scale). When using the direct sourcing model, supermarkets have to employ rural buying agents, contract farming or

co-operative models, forward purchase, transportation risks and less suppliersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; credit. Additionally they also have to deal with post-harvest loss.

Financial Intensive Analysis of Supermarkets’ Margin on Direct Sourcing With 13 stores Agora, the pioneer of supermarkets in Bangladesh, has started to directly source perishables (select vegetables and seasonal fruits).

Bogra

Gazipur Norshingdi

Pabna

Manikganj Munshiganj

Comilla

Spots for Procuring Vegetables Fig: Mapping out the Direct source Value Chain for Agora

Fig in BDT SL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Item Onion Indian Loose Onion Local Loose Tomato Round Cauliﬂower Cucumber Ginger China Loose Carrot Tomato Long Cabbage New Potato Lemon Long Bottle Gourd Green Chili Sweet Corn Local Sweet Gourd Pottol Green Papaya Potato Old Loose Lemon Black Lemon Kagoji

Sales Indirect Sourcing Direct Sourcing Monthly Avg Value Monthly Avg Cost Monthly Avg Cost Cost Save % Save 643,890 597,424 531,044 66,380 11% 575,033 533,249 511,919 21,330 4% 421,236 315,927 252,742 63,185 20% 394,541 276,179 181,489 94,690 34% 384,696 288,522 205,171 83,351 29% 370,513 296,410 271,709 24,701 8% 305,261 223,858 179,074 44,784 20% 278,563 206,821 179,386 27,436 13% 175,241 118,288 78,859 39,430 33% 164,676 114,074 88,148 25,926 23% 153,358 117,967 63,690 54,278 46% 119,444 83,619 71,674 11,946 14% 108,042 71,953 51,556 20,397 28% 96,679 66,294 48,471 17,824 27% 89,069 65,327 51,105 14,222 22% 81,838 60,794 49,103 11,691 19% 78,179 49,443 28,849 20,594 42% 77,197 71,683 68,926 2,757 4% 71,061 47,374 28,424 18,950 40% 26,430 17,444 11,101 6,343 36%

*Based on averaged out sales data from Nov’12 to Jun’13 · · ·

Total saves on cost via direct sourcing model comes to Tk 670K per month The saved margin to Gross Profit is 18.5% per month With increased product portfolio leveraging the same supply chain and higher economies of scale the saves are expected to increase

Final Sourcing Model (Information Technology Based) Procurement in bulk remains a key to the sustainability and growth for the sector. Most supermarkets are failing to build an inclusive model due to smaller purchase volumes, instead relying on middle-men. A sourcing entity, owned by a supermarket chain, and partially funded by the development sector, can assist in integrating the value chain for some products. This will ultimately benefit the end customers, supermarkets and farmers. Key Informant Interviews with supermarket management revealed their supply chain decision making process. Many supermarkets normally make demand forecasting decisions at least 1-2 weeks

beforehand, providing adequate time for price comparison and purchase. By leveraging the information, the sourcing entity can make better procurement decisions. The sourcing company will provide some major benefits across the value chain: • Supermarkets can delegate sourcing of some major products to the sourcing company receiving products at lower costs • The products will be graded and sorted to be transported to the supermarkets • Supermarkets will benefit from lower costs resulting in lower pricing for the end consumer • Farmers can capture a higher pie of the price

• Member farmers can be regularly updated about prices • The sourcing company will benefit from economies of scale • Training to member farmers for raising awareness on preserving product quality The sourcing firm will start-off with a selected number of products, mostly perishables e.g. Vegetables and some commodities. It will have a web based platform for order procurement and agents in major procurement divisions in the country mainly responsible for quality control and coordination. Farmers will be enlisted by the company and will receive information via SMS for any procurement consignment to be sent to Dhaka. Supermarkets will place tentative orders through web based portals which will be received and conveyed to local agents.

Agents will accordingly inform member farmers through a system generated SMS. Interested farmers will converge at a mutually acceptable location to deliver and sort the products. Once sorted, the products will be transported to Dhaka for onward distribution to supermarket outlets or their central warehouses. The souring company will be managed independently with supermarket representatives playing an advisory role regarding the nature of products to be procured. The company’s agents will be trained by supermarkets’ supply chain teams for better quality control and purchase decisions. For emergency procurement, the sourcing company will also explore procurement from local procurement hubs including Kawran Bazaar and Babu Bazaar and markets adjacent to Dhaka e.g. Savar.

Farmers SMS information

Supermarkets

Arrow indicates movement of goods

Sourcing Firm

Local Wholesale Hub

Sourcing Agents

The sourcing company has the potential to scale up if supported by supermarkets and aided by the development sector. Their service will enable smaller supermarkets to gain cost competitiveness which will further support the development of the sector. Farmers will be directly benefited from this by receiving higher prices as the middle-men margin will slowly dimish. The report was originally done for Care Bangladesh. Bijon Islam is the Co-founder & Chief Executive Officer of LightCastle Partners. He can be reached at bijon.islam@lightcastlebd.com. Zahedul Amin is a Co-founder and Director of Strategy at LightCastle Partners. He can be reached at zahedul.amin@lightcastlebd.com

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MECHANICAL KEYBOARD

/ Tech

The R of th eturn King e By

Abh

f you happened to be a computer user from the early 1990s or earlier, it is a safe bet to assume that the feel of a heavy-duty keyboard under your fingers continues to remain a beloved memory. The keyboards were heavy, and the keys were tall, inspired by the typewriters that had still not gone extinct. Striking a key would invoke a unique sound that falls somewhere between a clack and a crunch, one that would ring across the room

ijit

Asa

and let people all around know that a key was struck. In the hands of a touch typist, the vintage keyboards would rival a machinegun, in terms of both speed and noise. Before I go further, though, I should probably make something clear â&#x20AC;&#x201C; why am I raving about the simple keyboard when there are so much more exciting things to talk about like octa-core CPUs and GPUs the sizes of tanks? Since the keyboard is

probably the most crucial part of the interface that bridges people and computers and is almost certainly the peripheral that goes unnoticed nearly all the time until it stops working. Whether it’s for typing extended lengths of text, firing out strings of commands on a terminal interface or for rapidly accessing shortcuts and modifiers for professional design software, the physical keyboard is perhaps the most underrated and part of any professional’s arsenal. Touchscreen keyboards and gimmicky laser keyboards look great in science fiction films, but due to their lack of tactile feedback, they are not nearly as reliable as the far more muscle memory-friendly physical keyboards, which often doesn’t even need to be looked at during operation. But I’m digressing here. Vintage mechanical keyboards were all the rage in the early ‘90s because, well, they were the only kind of keyboards available. They were complex devices that could take a serious beating and could go on for many years without malfunctioning. The reason behind their nomenclature and their longevity is that each key on a mechanical keyboard is a separate spring-loaded switch. When a key is struck, the spring is pushed down until it makes contact with an audible click, and the keystroke is triggered immediately which the

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spring pushes the key back up. The internet is full of fond stories where someone has been using the same IBM Model M (one of the most famous models of mechanical keyboards) for over two decades without requiring maintenance, only replacing the plastic keycaps because the printed letters on them kept fading away over time. Which brings us to the next point – what happened to mechanical keyboards? Well, membrane keyboards happened. If you use a desktop computer or even a laptop, there is a high chance that you are using a membrane keyboard. The vast majority of the keyboards you see around you are membrane keyboards; they feature a large bumpy piece of plastic (the ‘membrane’) studded with electrodes on each bump, and atop each bump is affixed a keycap. When you strike a particular key, it triggers the respective electrodes under it, thus sending the signal of the keystroke to the computer; while the plastic’s natural flexibility pushes the key back up. When they first arrived in the mid-‘90s, membrane keyboards seemed like a godsend. They were incredibly cheap to produce due to their vastly simplified design (without requiring separate switches for each and every key), and due to their internal architecture, they were also nearly silent, with the keys themselves feeling almost padded. The sound of the fingers hitting the keys often tended to be louder than the actual sound of the keystroke, which was a blessing for quieter office environments, where noisier keyboards could be disruptive.

Since the keyboard is probably the most crucial part of the interface that bridges people and computers and is almost certainly the peripheral that goes unnoticed nearly all the time until it stops working. What could go wrong with such lovely devices? The membrane. Whereas mechanical keyboards can withstand and shrug off virtually any level of torture you can throw their way, membrane keyboards keys start to stick or display other problems within a year of casual use. Due to the fact that the same membrane is used for housing all the keys, it is difficult to repair a ruined membrane, and it is often far more practical to simply throw away the entire keyboard and get a new one. Since membrane keyboards are cheap, that doesn’t seem like too bad a deal. There were also other problems. Many keyboard-dependent users complained that the softer, padded feel of membrane keyboards numbed their sense of tactile feedback and caused their typing to slow down or become riddled with typographical errors. Indeed, touch-typists had relied a great deal on the springy feedback of mechanical keyboards to channel the resultant force from one keystroke into the next one, allowing them to achieve great typing speeds that simply could not be replicated on a membrane keyboard. Other users complained that the silent nature of the new keyboards made them miss the auditory response from the bold and chunky keystrokes of mechanical keyboards, and made typing a far less enjoyable

experience. Some users also complained that the membrane keyboards caused wrist pain. But the fact was, it was impractical for most people to get a more expensive mechanical keyboard with a far cheaper option present. Therefore, despite all their problems, membrane keyboards not only stuck around but ended up swiftly replacing mechanical keyboards as the dominant type of keyboards. Mechanical keyboards still continued to be produced, albeit in far smaller numbers and by far fewer manufacturers. It was then that the vintage mechanical keyboard made a shocking comeback. But it wasn’t in the same form as it had originally arrived. With backlit keys, high-quality keycaps with space-age lettering, different kinds of key switches with varying noise levels (from absurdly loud to nearly silent) and a variety of bells and whistles, the old mechanical keyboards regained their popularity as high-end luxury products which offered a superior experience for every professional who takes his typing seriously. And although they now cost well above several hundred dollars apiece, those who are prepared to pay for it are in for a treat. Oh, and also a keyboard that is almost unlikely to break down. Pressing isn’t it?

SHAH MAKHDUM RICE MILL

/ Photo Essay

A Standard Staple Words & Concept by Shaikh Ashfaque Zaman Photographs by Din Muhammad Shibly

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A worker monitors the separation of paddy and rice on the oscillating tray separators.

The operator adjusts the setting of the boiler. Monitoring of the automated boiler to maintain quality.

Milling of the rice is conducted to remove the husk and bran layer, producing kernels.

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The parboiled rice is processed through a shocking tank.

Immediately after exposure to steam, the rice is surged into the shock tank to guarantee that it is not over boiled.

The rice must be spread evenly within the steam tank to ensure quality

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The rice paddies are processed through multiple machines in order to produce kernels.

The cleaner machine is used to sort impurities from the rice paddies.

The sorting of Khan Bahadur rice in accordance to the color.

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The rice kernels following processing.

ultivating and processing the most essential constituent of the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diet, the Shah Makhdum Rice Mill located in Rajshahi, has productively operated since 2011. The mill has become one of the top quality producers of rice in Bangladesh. They are the first to install modern grain 10,000 MT paddy/rice silos; silos with moisture control to ensure that their rice is a product of superior quality. Using the most modern machineries, the mill is a paradigm to the potential of our agricultural sector if foremost technologies and methods are implemented.

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HOT ON WHEELS

/ BMW X1

The Paramount Series 106

A ccording to a study conducted by JICA in 2013, during peak travel hours, the average travel speed in Dhaka is 15.2 km/hour and it comes down to 10-12 km/hour. One can spend hours in congestion that can easily be a short walk; the stress of the commute seems a more paramount task than working overtime and upcoming deadlines. Fortunately, BMW X1, the smallest SUV of their series, offers the optimal comfort and relief from the blaring horns, humid atmosphere and stifling congestion. Whether its packages or passengers, the new X1sDrive18i has a wider interior with a high roof line that comfortably fits up to 5 people. The folding back seats allow for optimum space for storage. The 40:20:40 split of the backseat allows for best adjustments for luggage and passenger comfort. The passenger seat can be folded into a flat backrest, allowing the flat surface during the long commute. The displacement of the car is 1499cc.The top range www.icebusinesstimes.net

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bhp of 136, and the X1sdrive18i can go from 0 to 100kmp/h in 9.7 seconds; additionally, the carbon dioxide emission of 124 g/km, the new X1 series is both environmentally and economically friendly. With their efficient dynamic technology, the automatic start/stop functions, and brake energy regeneration further support energy conservation. The Eco-Pro and 8-speed Steptronic transmissions allow it to detect the terrain that it is being driven in for the most efficient use of fuel consumption; the optimum shift gear allows drivers to adjust the setting of the car for long distance and urban environments. With the performance control, the car can monitor the engine and brake interventions during cornering. These lead to a better driving experience with agility enhancement and curve neutrality. Given that the NCAP has given the X series constant 5 out 5

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rating in terms of safety; the X1's remarkable handling of the unpredictable roads of city and rigid terrains on the outskirts goes without question. Furthermore, the suspension refinement and improvements in electronic steering make things easier for the driver. The parking assistance allows drivers to maneuver through the alleys, easing through a trivial space that proves difficult to park around. The rear view camera and park distance control features facilitate convenience of the driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visual analysis of parking spaces. Rest easy in the premium leather seats while placing your favorite drink in one of the many cup holders; BMW makes driving an experience and with their promise for the premium luxury, the X1 transports you to a space that is a far cry from the tedium of the everyday commute. The BMWX1 starts at Tk 77 lacs.

WORD OF MOUTH

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/ Events

angladesh Information Security Exhibition and Conference (BISEC) held in Dhaka, Bangladesh for the first time ever, on the 28th of May, 2016 at the Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel. The exhibition/conference focused on a range of issues relating to Cyber Security and Risk Management. The key objectives of the exhibition were to increase awareness on cyber security threats and build capabilities to secure a prosperous digital future through innovation and engagement of the various stakeholders. BISEC is the brain child of Kazi Monirul Kabir, Chief Innovation Officer at Spider Digital Innovations. He has previously worked as the CCO for Grameenphone and the Country Director for Google in Bangladesh. The highly informative seminar featured Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister for ICT as the chief guest and Abu Hena Mohammad Razee Hasan, Deputy Governor of the Bangladesh Bank as the special guest at the event. Shyam Sunder Shikder, Secretary for

TOWARDS A DIGITALLY SECURED FUTURE

ICT Division; Shameem Ahsan, President of BASIS; Tapan Kanti Sarkar, President at CTO Forum also spoke during the conference. The seminar featured Keynote presentations by IT Security Experts like Time in Now by Amar Singh, Founder at Cyber Management Alliance; Cyber Resilience in the Financial Sector by David Cass, Chief Security Officer, Cloud & SAS, IBM; Cyber Threats in the Digital World by Fahad Kabir, Cyber Security Senior Leader, Ernst & Young, Canada; The Billion Dollar Cyber Heist by Sergei Golavanov, Principal Security Researcher, Global Research and Analysis Team, Kaspersky Lab and The Latest Threats Facing the Banking Industry by Kaspersky Lab, UK. The cyber security workshop was the first of its kind ever conducted in Bangladesh; it engaged professionals from the banking industry, IT sector and government agencies in a highly competitive simulation of managing real world cyber-attack under pressure. The session was exclusively conducted by Kaspersky Lab.

Pricekoto.com, the first B2B Online Trading and Sourcing Platform of Bangladesh Launches Full Scale 11th Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards Held

The winners of the 11th Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards (CMA), sponsored by the Citi Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Citigroup, were formally awarded at a special ceremony. Seen in the picture with the winners are Dr. Wahiduddin Mahmud, Chairperson of the 11th CMA Advisory Committee, Professor, Department of Economics, Dhaka University and Former Advisor to the Caretaker Government; Rokia Afzal Rahman, Managing Director, Arlinks Limited & Former Advisor to the Caretaker Government; Md. Moinul Huq, Director & Acting Citi Country Officer for Bangladesh; Zahida Fizza Kabir, Executive Director - Sajida Foundation, Md. Abdul Awal, Executive Director - Credit and Development Forum. Microentrepreneurs from different districts, representatives from microfinance institutions as well as important officials from the ministries and the central bank, diplomats, dignitaries and members from the Advisory Council and Screening Committee of the 11th CMA program were also present.

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Ezzy Group one of the country’s leading business automation companies has announced the formal launch of the first B2B online trading platform, Pricekoto.com in Bangladesh. Pricekoto.com with the ethos of “Business Starts Here” has been live since mid-June 2015 on and have already met a strong response generating a base of more than 1100 verified sellers and more than 250 corporate registered buyers, which indicates the potentiality of success. The current corporate buyers who have already enrolled with Pricekoto.com include Marico, Transcom, Ha-Meem Group, Berger Paints, BSRM, Anwara Group, Rupayan Group, Dynasty Group and others. The product categories include apparels & textiles, hardware & tools, agriculture, machinery, automobiles, electrical equipment, energy and power sector, electronics, office supplies, gifts, furniture, metallurgy, rubber and plastics, bags & shoes and accessories and other categories. Pricekoto.com is a complete end-to-end business market place ideal for buyers and sellers trading converging into one platform with ever-expanding product categories. It is a live 24 hours online business trading and sourcing platform, which is undeterred by political inconsistencies, holidays and weekends. And it even assists a new business with the facilities of creation of websites. Salman Ali, CEO of Pricekoto.com said, “We are extremely inspired by the present Government’s initiatives to digitize all the work process across sectors and in line with its progress, we felt the time was here to launch a truly international standard buyer-seller online trading platform through Pricekoto.com. Through this platform, we will not only bring in momentum to the business community but also encourage entrepreneurship and new business generation which will all contribute to the growth of business flow to enhance the country’s financial economy aspirations.”

BGCCI Elect new President

Inclusive Business Paving the Way

Recently, Katalyst has conducted a study titled ‘Inclusive Agri-business for Shared Prosperity – Why Inclusive Business makes Business Sense’. It is being researched and written by Dr. Peter Davis, MA, PhD and is based on interviews with private companies that Katalyst has partnered with. Dr. Peter Davis is currently based in the UK and has a lot of experience of working in Bangladesh. A dissemination workshop was held on 25th May at Hotel Sarina with public and private organizations to share/disseminate the findings of this study.

Tawfiq Ali, the Chief Representative of Commerzbank AG in Bangladesh, has been elected as the new president of country’s largest bilateral business chamber, Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI). The election took place on 28th of May 2016 at Amari Hotel, Dhaka. Members of BGCCI have elected a new executive board for years of 2016-2017. A good number of top rated businessmen are also accompanying Tawfiq Ali in the newly elected BGCCI executive board. The Executive Board contains Tawfiq Ali as its president, Anwar Shahid of Shimex International and Sujan Kumar Saha of BASF (Bangladesh) Ltd. as Senior Vice Presidents, Nessar M. Khan of Maks Renewable Energy Company Ltd. and Thomas Hoffmann of Stoll (H Stoll GmbH & Co. KG) as the vice presidents, M. Nooruddin Chowdhury of DHL Global Forwarding (Bangladesh) Ltd. has been elected as the treasurer. The rest of the executive board members are S.M. Zia-Us-Shams, M. Maksud, Tawfiq Quadir, C.K. (Chayan) Dey, Sabera Ahmed Choudhury, Omar Sadat, Mr. Mahbubul Alam, Mohammad Ershad Hossain, Adnan Md. Iqbal and Dilruba Chowdhury.

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A Click to Empowerment I

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n their endeavors to empower women in business, Eastern Bank Ltd. (EBL) presented 12 female entrepreneurs with computers. In a simple ceremony, the company gave these successful women from different parts of the country to encourage the incorporation of technology into their businesses. The bank would like to highlight women in a separate scheme and empower them with the knowledge that they can be equal contributors, striving for overall development of. Ali Reza Iftekhar Managing Director & CEO of Eastern Bank Ltd & Swapan Kumar Roy, General Manager SME & SPED of Bangladesh Bank handed over the computers to the women under the Non-Financial Services (NFS) EBL & Mohammadi Group. These women were grateful for what was a gesture of compliance, care and support. The computers will help them bring their accounts into organization, enable social media advertising, and overall organization of business documentation. Mahfil Ara Shaheli enthusiastically stated, â&#x20AC;&#x153;A simple laptop may not seem like much but its significance is vast. I have been given this

as recognition of my work and to encourage the further growth of my business; EBL motivating women to create a strong livelihood.â&#x20AC;? Managing Director of EBL & General Manager of BB have exchanged views with the entrepreneurs on various business issues. Swapan encouraged women entrepreneurs to extend their business in manufacturing segment. While Iftekhar emphasized on keeping business record on computerized system. He also said that EBL would provide necessary training on different accounting module in coming days to equip women entrepreneurs. Among others Hassan O. Rashid, Additional Managing Director, Md. Khurshed Alam, Head of SME Banking, Anwar Faruq Talukder, Head of Business, Rashidul Islam, Head of Medium Business, Mohammad Moinul Islam, Md. Mahbubul Kadir, Senior GM of Mohammadi Group and other senior official of EBL were present in the gathering.

FEATURE

/ Agropreneurship

Harvesting Success By Rokeya Zaman

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elina Jahan is an Agroprenuer and Activist. This woman single-handedly established an Organic Farm in 2005 to produce vermicompost, a form of organic fertilizer, which ensures a high yield of vegetables and fruits as well as causes no harm to the environment. Currently there are 6,500 women under her tutelage from various districts of Bangladesh, they have been engaged in similar kind of ventures to produce for a safer tomorrow. She is the executive director of Narsingdi Grameen Krishok Daridro Bimochon O Atokallan Shostha (Narsingdi Village Farmers Self Reliance and Poverty Alleviation Organization) and the president of 73 Sahaikachar CIG (Women Cooperative Association) and member of Jatia Mahila Samati. She is also the proprietor of Messers Selina Organic Firm, Shibpur Narsingdi. A commonly asked question for any Bengali as we sit down for any meal is “Ki torkari?” There are many staples that we require to

accompany rice and roti, vegetables being one of them. Unfortunately, the quality of vegetables in the country has profoundly dwindled with the usage of chemicals to preserve, grow and modify vegetables. In an effort to combat such heinous acts, Selina has tirelessly worked to provide organic, safe vegetables and vermicompost. “My husband, Md. Shajhan Mia, supported and motivated me throughout my career as an agroprenuer. I was inspired by the program Hridoye Mati O Manush and Krisi Diba Nishi by Skykh Seraj,” explains Selina. Her success lies within environmentally-friendly technological innovations in agriculture and seed production and utilization of barren land. Moreover, she is determined to introduce the idea of vermicompost, natural compost that is made by using worms to decomposing vegetables, food waste, bedding material and vermicast. Her endeavor to change the face of farming include the employment of women in the country’s most predominant occupation, “My efforts including teaching women to become farmers using my methodologies. I would like to show women that they can be self-reliant and generate their own earning.” Initiating her vision in her home town, Narsingdi, her venture has expanded to Noakhali, Khagrachari, Bandarban, Dinajpur and Rajbari. “Introducing a new product, especially one that seems so peculiar proved to be a challenge. This is factored with the delayed time that our country takes in terms of making decisions regarding any kind of change,” remarks Selina. She believes that her efforts to make

vermicompost, a widely used product can have much greater leverage with assistance from the government. She adds, “With greater agricultural provisions we can add much greater value to the agriculture industry. My extensive experience has led me to infer that there is definitive potential in exporting fruits, vegetables and agro products. The industry can profoundly contribute to our GDP.” Given that agro products are a fundamental requirement, their demand is perennial. In that regard, Selina emphasizes the need for proper organization and introduction of storage system technology. “If we have proper technology to preserve the vegetables and sell them, they can be sold at reasonable prices; more importantly it reduces wastage of food materials exponentially. Simultaneously we can establish proper bridges between farmers and sellers without the use of a middleman in order to strengthen the industry.” From her substantial experiences in the rural parts of the country, she has witnessed common and unfortunate predicaments where the young adults are sent abroad because of the income that they can send for their family. “The country is comprised of mostly farmers. If they are given the provisions to flourish, the country will ultimately benefit because our citizens will not seek labor elsewhere,” postulates Selina. Her visions of a solely organic approach to farming are the roots to a more successful country whose root lies most significantly in their farmers.

WORD OF MOUTH

/ Happening

Abdul Matlub Ahmad President FBCCI is exchanging documents with his counterpart at JETRO to launch a joint initiative to attract investment in Bangladesh from one of the major economies of the world.

Standard Chartered Bank recently signed an MoU with Rangs Limited. To celebrate the campaign, Standard Chartered Bank has come up with an exciting Auto Loan offer with Interest Rate of 11% and “Zero” Processing Fee for the select vehicles of Rangs Ltd under an agreement with them.

Rahimafrooz has recently subscribed to Robi’s mobile telecommunication services which will let them enjoy special mobile based enterprise solutions, call rate, call conferencing, close user group facility and many more value added services including internet.

Speakers at the CPD media briefing to release the State of the Bangladesh Economy in FY 2015-16 (third reading) report at CIRDAP Auditorium on 25 May 2016. The report was prepared as part of CPD’s Independent Review of Bangladesh’s Development (IRBD) program.

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A three-day twin international tradeshow on building, construction and woodworking industries titled “2nd Bangladesh Buildcon 2016” and “JAT presents 2nd Bangladesh Wood 2016” was held on the 26th of May at the International Convention City, Bashundhara.

ICT Division and BASIS jointly organized the BizTech B2B Conference, a one of its kind business solutions showcase event to expand the local Software and ITES market. CCCI President Mahbubul Alam sought cooperation and initiative of the Sri Lankan envoy for identifying and solving problems existing between the two countries to help increase export from Bangladesh at a views exchange meeting held at CCCI office in World Trade Centre building in the port city.

A showcase exhibition of safe Materials, equipment’s & constructions, SAFECON 2016, designed and executed by Savor International Limited was held at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB)

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BOURSE UPDATE

/ Capital Market

Top Ten Companies by Turnover Value for this fortnight April 16-30, 2016) Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Name of the Securities

Category

MJL Bangladesh Ltd. United Power Generation & Distribution Company Limited Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited ACI Limited. Jamuna oil Keya Cosmetics Doreen Power Generations and Systems Ltd Aman Feed Limited Lankabangla Finance Com The Ibn Sina

A A A A A A N A A A

Value in Tk. mn 1,844.95 1,338.52 1,308.22 1,195.60 1,079.37 1,032.92 918.34 781.13 773.15 716.54

Volume in Nos. 17,816,092 8,273,326 8,633,941 2,088,721 5,558,021 79,594,431 14,274,963 9,098,740 22,971,500 3,392,890

Top Ten Companies by Turnover Volume for this fortnight April 16-30, 2016) Name of the Securities

Category

Keya Cosmetics United Airways (BD) Ltd Lankabangla Finance Com Far East Knitting & Dyeing Industries Limited MJL Bangladesh Ltd. Dragon Sweater and Spinning Limited Jamuna Bank Doreen Power Generations and Systems Ltd BEXIMCO EXIM Bank

A A A A A N A N A A

Volume in Nos. 79,594,431 28,324,472 22,971,500 20,705,409 17,816,092 15,591,696 15,059,397 14,274,963 12,994,953 12,882,519

Value in Tk. mn

1,032.92 142.65 773.15 418.36 1,844.95 212.47 194.49 918.34 343.97 115.22

% of total Value 5.00 3.63 3.54 3.24 2.92 2.80 2.49 2.12 2.10 1.94

% of total Value 8.28 2.95 2.39 2.15 1.85 1.62 1.57 1.49 1.35 1.34

Top Ten Gainer Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight April 16-30, 2016) Sl. No.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Name of the Securities

Category

Eastern Lubricants Monno Stafllers Libra Infusions Limited Anlima Yarn Dyeing Ltd. Far East Knitting & Dyeing Industries Limited Gemini Sea Food Standard Ceramic Linde Bangladesh Limited Berger Paints Renwick Jajneswar & Co. (BD) Ltd.

Current Fortnight Closing Price in Tk.

Last Fortnight Closing Price in Tk.

% of Change

Value in Tk. mn

Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn

A A A A A

1,367.40 436.20 654.10 25.40 19.00

930.60 304.70 491.90 21.80 16.50

46.94 43.16 32.97 16.51 15.15

159.79 14.07 163.68 98.48 418.36

15.98 1.41 16.37 9.85 41.84

A A A A A

1,007.90 47.60 1,199.80 2,051.40 289.70

886.20 42.90 1,101.30 1,900.20 268.70

13.73 10.96 8.94 7.96 7.82

219.15 25.78 127.23 37.22 22.29

21.91 2.58 12.72 3.72 2.23

Top Ten Loser Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight April 16-30, 2016) Sl. No.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Name of the Securities

Safko Spinnings First Finance Limited. Beach Hatchery Ltd. Regent Textile Mills Limited Central Pharmaceuticals Limited GSP Finance Company (BD) Ltd. Salvo Chemical Industry Limited Dragon Sweater and Spinning Limited Progressive Life Keya Cosmetics

Category

A B B N A A A N Z A

Current Fortnight Closing Price in Tk. 10.90 6.40 9.00 11.30 14.20 11.40 10.00 11.90 53.10 10.90

Last Fortnight Closing Price in Tk.

% of Change

Value in Tk. mn

Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn

16.60 9.70 13.50 16.60 19.30 15.10 13.20 15.70 68.90 14.10

(34.34) (34.02) (33.33) (31.93) (26.42) (24.50) (24.24) (24.20) (22.93) (22.70)

35.62 5.42 40.23 125.07 152.23 67.51 25.36 212.47 0.35 1,032.92

3.56 0.54 4.02 12.51 15.22 6.75 2.54 21.25 0.03 103.29

Disclaimer: Dhaka Stock Exchange does not hold any responsibility for these date.

122

Top Ten Companies by Turnover Value for this fortnight May 1-15, 2016) Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Name of the Securities

Category

United Power Generation & Distribution Company Limited Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited MJL Bangladesh Ltd. Linde Bangladesh Limited BSRM Steels Limited Square Pharma Doreen Power Generations and Systems Ltd Beximco Pharma Lankabangla Finance Com Olympic Industries

Value in Tk. mn

Volume in Nos.

2,119.91

12,630,821

% of total Value 5.35

A A A A A N A A A

2,006.48 1,968.51 1,463.01 1,244.33 792.21 752.44 697.06 694.89 645.30

13,739,903 18,118,696 1,046,367 12,442,458 3,044,499 13,768,705 8,213,153 22,007,169 2,031,178

5.07 4.97 3.70 3.14 2.00 1.90 1.76 1.76 1.63

Top Ten Companies by Turnover Volume for this fortnight May 1-15, 2016) Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Name of the Securities

Category

United Airways (BD) Ltd Keya Cosmetics Islami Bank Lankabangla Finance Com EXIM Bank Far East Knitting & Dyeing Industries Limited MJL Bangladesh Ltd. Doreen Power Generations and Systems Ltd Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills Limited Jamuna Bank

Volume in Nos.

A A A A A A A N A A

Value in Tk. mn

53,668,804 46,462,769 22,467,271 22,007,169 20,307,034 19,252,209 18,118,696 13,768,705 13,739,903 13,404,200

% of total Value 5.49 4.75 2.30 2.25 2.08 1.97 1.85 1.41 1.41 1.37

289.45 533.97 550.78 694.89 180.49 439.52 1,968.51 752.44 2,006.48 173.11

Top Ten Gainer Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight May 1-15, 2016) Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Name of the Securities

Far East Knitting & Dyeing Industries Limited Anlima Yarn Dyeing Ltd. Shahjibazar Power Co. Ltd. Tosrifa Industries Limited BSC Linde Bangladesh Limited Confidence Cement Prime Textile Bangladesh Building Systems Ltd. Aramit Cement

Category

Last Fortnight Closing Price in Tk. 19.00

% of Change

Value in Tk. mn

Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn

Current Fortnight Closing Price in Tk. 24.00

26.32

439.52

43.95

A A A A A A A A A

31.80 112.40 16.00 365.90 1,440.40 84.00 17.40 36.40 31.60

25.40 90.40 13.10 300.70 1,199.80 71.30 14.80 31.00 27.20

25.20 24.34 22.14 21.68 20.05 17.81 17.57 17.42 16.18

224.98 549.62 45.15 302.80 1,463.01 221.42 40.60 255.19 28.10

22.50 54.96 4.51 30.28 146.30 22.14 4.06 25.52 2.81

Top Ten Loser Companies by Closing Price for this fortnight May 1-15, 2016) Sl. No.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Name of the Securities

Bd. Welding Electrodes Alltex Industries Ltd. Social Islamic Bank Ltd. CMC Kamal Libra Infusions Limited Sonargaon Textiles Dragon Sweater and Spinning Limited Bangladesh National Insurance Company Limited Eastland Insurance Beacon Pharmaceuticals Limited

Category

Current Fortnight Closing Price in Tk.

Last Fortnight Closing Price in Tk.

% of Change

Value in Tk. mn

Average Daily Value Traded Tk. mn

Z A A A A Z N N

8.50 17.70 11.50 13.90 553.10 7.80 10.10 11.20

11.80 22.20 14.00 16.70 654.10 9.20 11.90 12.90

(27.97) (20.27) (17.86) (16.77) (15.44) (15.22) (15.13) (13.18)

23.84 139.93 41.77 170.50 97.47 3.19 119.21 69.50

2.38 13.99 4.18 17.05 9.75 0.32 11.92 6.95

A Z

17.80 14.50

20.30 16.30

(12.32) (11.04)

8.09 35.58

0.81 3.56

Source: Dhaka Stock Exchange

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