Qatar’s Al Sulaiteen Group interested in importing seeds, saplings from Bangladesh

Qatar's leading agro-based company Al Sulaiteen Group has shown interest in importing seeds and saplings from Bangladesh.

The group Chairman Abdullah Salem Al Sulaiteen expressed his desire to the Bangladeshi Ambassador to Qatar Jasim Uddin during a meeting in Doha yesterday.

Al Sulaiteen Group operates one of the largest agricultural farms in Qatar, producing landscaping, flowers and vegetables using hydroponic technology.

The company employs a significant number of Bangladeshi workers in its farms.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed increasing Bangladeshi manpower in Qatar's agriculture, import of agricultural inputs and exchange of experience.

Ambassador Jasim highlighted the achievement of self-sufficiency of Bangladesh in producing agricultural products. He also highlighted the experience of Bangladeshi workers in agriculture and requested the appointment of Bangladeshis in various technical posts besides agriculture.

Expressing interest in importing necessary seeds and saplings from Bangladesh, Al Sulaiteen handed over a list of their requirements to the ambassador.

The Al Sulaiteen Group chairman also proposed to recruit graduates from Bangladeshi agricultural universities as interns at the Al Sulaiteen Agricultural Research, Studies & Training Centre.

Last month, Bangladesh started exporting saplings by sea to Qatar for the first time.  A total of 3,846 saplings of eight species were exported to Qatar. Al Naimi Landscaping, a Bangladeshi-owned company in Qatar, imports these saplings from Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi exporter Bijra Enterprise of Cumilla said saplings were exported by air previously. But it was difficult to capture Qatar's market because exports were expensive.

Now, there is a lot of export opportunities as a result of the initiative to export by sea, said Bijra Enterprise.