Retail chain Shwapno started its export journey by sending it first consignment to Hong Kong on March 31.

The first consignment consisted of pointed gourds, lady fingers, green mangoes, potatoes, bitter gourd and 26 other items of vegetables and fruits, a press release said.

The second consignment of the Bangladeshi retail chain took place on May 15 while Shwapno Global GAP certified bottle gourds were exported with the previous items.

"Shwapno has started exporting from March 31. The shipment which reached Hong Kong on Sunday includes Global GAP Certified Bottle Gourds. Even though other items were exported before, we have included mangoes in our export category this time. Last Sunday, we exported 100 kgs of 'Gonbindhobhog' varieties of mangoes to Hong Kong from some select orchards in Satkhira. We did it with the help of Solidaridad Network Asia," said Saiful Alam, team leader and export initiative adviser of Shwapno.

"Shwapno is the first retail member of GLOBAL G.A.P. in South East Asia. USAID's feed the future program has fully supported us in this journey of ensuring safe food for global consumers. Now onwards, Shwapno will be exporting seven types of products to various countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Australia, USA and UK," he added.