Agriculture Minister Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said Bangladesh will resume exporting potatoes to Russia this year.

“Bangladesh was exporting a huge amount of potatoes annually to Russia before Russia imposed a ban on the export of potatoes. Recently, Russia lifted the ban and the initiative to resume export of potatoes has been taken. Export will resume this year,” he said.

Russia imposed restrictions on Bangladesh's potatoes owing to the detection of brown rot disease in them in 2014.

Subsequently, the government took several measures to ensure the production of safe and disease-free potatoes while the Russian government lifted the ban in March 2022.

Bangladesh is the seventh largest producer of vegetables and it exports less than 100,000 tonnes out of its annual production of nearly 1 crore tonnes.

The minister also said the Russian authorities also expressed interest to import cauliflower, cabbage and mangoes from Bangladesh.

During the meeting, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to import DAP and potassium fertilisers from Russia was also discussed.

“At the same time, we want to bring DAP fertiliser from Russia. An MoU in this regard will be signed soon.”

He said, “Russia is a true friend of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has had a deep relationship with Russia since Independence. I strongly believe that our relationship will remain intact.”