Local firm set to market hygienic, halal meat
Bengal Meat capable of processing 20 tons of meat a day
Star Business Report
A local company -- Bengal Meat Processing Industries Ltd -- is set to market hygienic and halal meat at home and abroad as it has established a state of the art plant for the first time in Bangladesh.A leading Australian company in food processing automation -- Food Equipment Australia -- has offered technical assistance to Bengal Meat to set up the plant at Santhia in Pabna. Bengal Meat is capable of producing 20 tons of hygienically processed meat of cow, veal, goat, sheep and lamb a day. The company has also set up its own central warehouse in Dhaka to ensure regular and timely supply of products with cold chain transportation facilities. Bengal Meat organised a pre-inaugural function to mark its launching. Among others, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, LGRD and co-operatives minister, M Shamsul Islam, information minister, and Douglas Foskett, Australian high commissioner in Dhaka, attended the function at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel on Thursday. Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan said Bangladesh needs to diversify its commodities to increase export and start exporting non-traditional items. "We need to increase our exports and earn more foreign currency. The initiative of Bengal Meat will also help generate substantial amount of jobs in the country," he told the pre-inaugural programme. M Shamsul Islam hoped Bengal Meat's high quality products will contribute to the country's economic development. Douglas Foskett said Bengal Meat has set an example for other food processing plants in Bangladesh. Mazharul Islam, chairman of the company, said per kg price of all kinds of processed meat will be only Tk 20 more than those of the products available in the market now. "But we will give 100 percent in terms of quality," he mentioned. Ashiqus Samad, managing director of the company, said: "Bengal Meat is directly involved with the groups and cooperatives who supply animals." The company will also offer alternative income sources to the cattle growers, he mentioned. Noman Anwar, marketing consultant of the company, said Bengal Meat plans to export 80 percent of its products. "We meet world export standards and other crucial benchmarks like HACCP and ISO," said Nila Zaman, director of Sales and Marketing of the company. "We are committed to giving consumers the actual meat they are paying for." Niaz Rahim, managing director of Agora Superstore Ltd, said the initiative is a big step forward in food processing industry.
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