Bangladesh Agro-Processors' Association (Bapa) also asked the government for treating the agro-products (fresh foods and vegetables) and agro-processing as two separate sectors and giving cash incentives to the sectors separately.

Bapa leaders voiced these demands at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU) office in the capital.

The agro-processed exporters also demanded allocation of the money for the sector as recommended by the Bangladesh Bank.

Addressing the conference Bapa President Amjad Khan Chowdhury said the agro-processing sector has emerged as a potential and booming industry in recent years. The sector, according to him, earned Tk 400 crore in the 2004-05 fiscal, registering an enormous growth from Tk 6 crore in the FY 2001-02.

He also said with a view to encouraging export, the government has been giving subsidy to the sector from 2005 but the lion's share of the subsidy goes to the agro-products industry instead of agro-processing products, resulting in extreme disappointment among the agro-processing entrepreneurs.

He told the press that they are facing problems to get the subsidy. "We have received only about 4.5 crore but our claims worth Tk 16 crore are yet to be settled."

Portraying the export scenario of direct agricultural and processed products Bapa Adviser Prof Muzammel Huq said the processed sector is a promising foreign currency earner after the garments sector and if the government supports the sector properly, it will earn a lot within a short span of time.