Dutch consumers could soon be enjoying organic fruit and beans from Myanmar.
The Netherlands-based food company Tradin Organic Agriculture has offered to buy various Myanmar products, said Daw Ei Shwe Zin, director of the technology and market promotion department of the Ministry of Industry.
The company says it wants to buy dried, freeze-packed mangos, pineapples, strawberries, ginger, sesame, beans and tamarind, said Daw Swe Zin Soe, deputy director of the department.
Details of the company’s offer have been passed to the Myanmar Pulses, Beans and Sesame Seeds Merchants Association, the Myanmar Fruit and Vegetable Producers Association, and to agricultural entrepreneurs throughout the country, she said.
“They [Tradin] are looking for as much produce as they can find, but they trade only in organic goods,” said Daw Swe Zin Soe, adding that the Dutch company was looking at a wide range of agricultural produce.
Crops sold as organic must be certified as such by recognized organizations, and must be of export quality.
“We’re making a list to send to the Netherlands of all the companies they can deal with, including their organic output and the quantities they might be able to send,” she said.
Entrepreneurs from Myanmar Pulses, Beans and Sesame Seeds Merchants Association have responded to the offer. They are likely to have more than enough to meet the company’s needs because of Myanmar’s huge beans and pulses production for export, said association joint secretary U Kyaw Win.
Myanmar’s agriculture ministry had endorsed the quality of their product, saying it met the standards required by the Dutch company, he said.
Tradin Organic Agriculture will liaise directly with the companies it selects from the ministry’s list, said Daw Swe Zin Soe.
Although discussions have taken place with Dutch companies over the sale of agricultural products, this is the first formal offer to be made, she added. The company will organise a workshop for local entrepreneurs later this month.
Director Daw Ei Shwe Zin said, “If we can meet the quality standards, it looks like there will be a deal. In any case, we will be able to find out more about what the Netherlands market prefers. The workshop will be a good opportunity for both sides to get to know one another.”
From: Myanmar Times
