We are investing in products in demand at home and abroad

The philosophy of Pran-RFL Group is – working with the agriculture sector intensively and manufacturing such products to cater to people's demand. From processing to manufacturing of different products, such as flour, starch, lentil and soybean seed, and salt, all will be done in our new factories.

Once we go into production, we will bring more farmers under contract farming to ensure supply of required raw materials, including maize, lentil, soybean seed and wheat, which will play an important role in the agriculture sector's development as well.

We are also going to set up poultry, fish and cattle farms. People are now spending more money on protein intake, and we have entered into the business so that people can meet their needs at affordable prices.

Our other goal is to create huge employment opportunities in this way. We are now setting up a garment factory in the northern region, which will create jobs alongside increasing our exports.

In the post-Covid time, we have entered many foreign markets and witnessed demand for various kinds of products. We are used to seeing that China is manufacturing and exporting such products that are in a great demand in the overseas markets. We have learned this and started manufacturing products as per the demand of foreign countries. 

We export garment items to African countries alongside Europe and America. Besides, we also started exporting electronics, home appliances, and footwear items to our neighboring country in 2021. 

We are investing in the sectors to meet growing consumer demand, increase exports, help the agriculture sector grow and generate employment.  

In Covid-19 time, we have learned a lot and are now doing well both at home and overseas markets. We thank our government for providing us with various facilities in the pandemic situation. 

The government is giving many opportunities to invest in new sectors, encouraging entrepreneurs to invest more and focusing on some sectors, including agro-processing, light engineering, plastic and others. 

We are having many problems with transporting our products because of a rise in freight charges. Besides, the number of vessels available is not enough to ship goods to buyers. 

Moreover, we always face some non-tariff barriers to export products to our neighboring countries and the Middle East. If we work intensively with these countries, I hope such issues will be resolved in the upcoming days.   

We started our export journey in 1997. At the beginning of the journey, only expatriate Bangladeshis were the consumers of our products. The situation has now changed and local people in the United States, Europe, Africa, Australia and the Middle East now consume Pran products. 

We are reaching out to all corners of the world with our new products and the people are purchasing those. So, the day is not far away when Bangladesh will be known not only for garments but also for food products.

Ahsan Khan Chowdhury is the Chairman and CEO of Pran-RFL Group.