Four Bangladeshi food manufacturing companies are participating in the four-day FOODEX Japan 2009, one of the biggest food and beverage exhibitions in Asia and Asia Pacific regions, starting from today in the Chiba city of Japan.

The local companies, aided by the Japan External T rade Organisation (Jetro), will now get access to the US$ 44 billion Japanese food market, said a statement.

The four companies arc Bangla Natural Agro Ltd, Milton Sea Foods International, Global Agro Resources Incorporation and Hamdard laboratories (WAQF) Bangladesh.

The local companies will showcase organic agro-food products such as dry

neem leaf, turmeric, guava leaf, chilli, tulsi, sea food items like black tiger shrimp, yellow fin tuna, and processed potato foods such as potato flakes, potato chips, potato starch and French fry.

The exhibition, a platform to network international companies and businesspeople, has also been recognised as a hub for trade promotion, partnership and publicity of products from around the world.

Jetro has offered a 75 percent subsidy in participation fee for the least developed countries, including Bangladesh.

In 2008 the exhibition pulled around 96,000 visitors consisting wholesalers, importers, retailers and manufacturers with over 3,400 booths of exhibitors from 65 countries.