Pran to buy 20,000 tonnes of tomatoes

Pran, one of the leading agro-processors in the country, has started tomato collection from the farmers and pulping activities to manufacture sauce, ketchup, tomato paste and other food items.

The agro processor has set a target to procure 20,000 tonnes of tomatoes, said a press release.

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The company already started collecting and pulping the tomatoes in its Barind (Varendra) Industrial Park in Rajshahi from Monday.

They will also collect tomatoes through the Pran Agro Ltd factory in Natore from next week.

"We are collecting tomatoes from Rajshahi, Natore, Chapainawabganj, Dinajpur, Pabna and Naogaon districts. The collection and pulping activities will continue till the availability of tomatoes in the field," said Sarowar Hossain, general manager of Barind Industrial Park.

The company has a capacity to produce 18,000 tonnes of sauce every year, he said.

"Pran's sauce and ketchup have a good market across the world. Currently, Pran exports its sauce and ketchup to many countries, including Malaysia, the UAE, the USA, Italy and Sweden," said Kamruzzaman Kamal, marketing director of Pran-RFL Group.