US-based Venture37, City Bank Capital to help develop local cold chain infrastructure

US-based agriculture development organisation Venture37 has teamed up with leading financial service provider City Bank Capital as part of efforts to develop cold chain infrastructure in Bangladesh.

The partnership will focus on increasing investment opportunities in the areas of cold chain networks, warehousing systems, energy-efficient investment for cold storage and temperature-controlled logistic services.

With a yearly growth rate of 15 per cent from 2014 to 2018, the market size of Bangladesh's agro-processing industry has reached approximately to $4.81 billion, combining both domestic and export volume, according to the City Bank Capital data.

Since 1981, Venture37 has been delivering market insights and technical expertise to agricultural development projects around the world.

It has an affiliation with Land O'Lakes, Inc., one of the United States' largest farmer-owned agribusinesses.

The absence of temperature-controlled logistics infrastructure in Bangladesh results in significant post-harvest losses, as reported by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN, with post-harvest loss of 26 per cent for fruits and 12-30 per cent for fish, according to the City Bank Capital.

"These inefficiencies can have a severe impact on the country's food security and economy so we are working on it as the cold chain infrastructure needs to be developed, said Ershad Hossain, managing director and CEO for City Bank Capital.

City Bank Capital will give financial advisory and Venture37 technical advisory to the corporate houses who want to come to the cold chain infrastructure sector, he said.

This partnership will not only enhance the competitiveness of the temperature-controlled logistic services sector, but will also create new opportunities for businesses and investors alike, he added.

Under a project of the USDA named Bangladesh Trade Facilitation Project, Venture37 is giving the technical assistance.

Ershad Hossain and Michael J Parr, country director and project director of the Bangladesh Trade Facilitation Project, signed the MoU.