Pran, one of the biggest agro-processors in the country, is collecting tomatoes from the farmers of the different districts, especially from the northern areas, to manufacture tomato-based products including sauce and ketchup.
It sets a target of procuring 12,000 metric tons of tomatoes for the season, read a press release.
At the end of January, the conglomerate began collecting and pulping tomatoes in its plants at Pran Agro Ltd in Natore and Barind (Varendra) Industrial Park in Rajshahi, and it will continue until the tomatoes are available.
It is collecting tomatoes from its contract farmers, and it has around 10,500 contract farmers in Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Bogra, Pabna, Natore, Khulna, and some other districts this year.
Sarowar Hossain, general manager of Barind Industrial Park, said: "Lots of tomatoes are cultivated in Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Pabna, Natore, and surrounding districts. We have started collecting and pulping tomatoes in full swing like the previous years."
The contract farmers of Pran have cultivated tomatoes for around 1000 bighas of land. After receiving the tomatoes at our factory, the tomatoes are taken to our automatic machine, which later turns into tomato paste. The paste is preserved in an aseptic system, he added.
Kamruzzaman Kamal, director (Marketing) at Pran-RFL group, said: "Pran always gives the highest priority to maintaining quality, and the quality of the products largely depends on the raw materials. Considering this, Pran started the contractual cultivation of tomatoes in 2010 and is working intensively with farmers, and the representatives of Pran are giving training and consultancy and providing instrument-related support to the farmers. As a result, farmers receive bumper crops from each bigha of land and benefit financially during the season."
He also added that sauce and ketchup, made from tomatoes, are very popular in Bangladesh and many other countries.
Presently, Pran exports its sauce and ketchup to many countries, including India, Malaysia, UAE, the USA, Italy, and Sweden.
Pran is also trying to spread the market.
If demand increases in the world market, farmers will be able to earn more.