Monir Hossain Benapole Correspondent:-
Fruit imports from India through the Benapole land port have been suspended. Fruit imports have been halted due to a strike called by the Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Imports Association demanding the withdrawal of additional supplementary duty on fresh fruit imports.
Fruit imports will remain closed today, Wednesday and Thursday. Meanwhile, trade officials say that the government's revenue will be hit hard due to the import ban. The price of fruit per kg has already increased by 30-40 taka in the market due to the increase in customs duty. If import activities are closed, there is a possibility that the fruit market will rise further in the future.
According to port and business sources, a large part of the food imported from India includes apples, grapes, oranges, and other fresh fruits. Earlier, the customs authorities used to collect 20 percent supplementary duty. In this, the government had to pay 101 taka revenue per kg of fruit. Suddenly, on January 9, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) increased the supplementary duty on fruit imports from 20 percent to 30 percent in a new directive. As a result, the current duty per kg has increased by 15 taka to 116 taka. As a result, sellers have increased prices in the open market by increasing the cost of import.
Buyers have expressed anger over the increase in fruit prices ahead of Ramadan. On January 29, the Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Import Association held a press conference demanding the withdrawal of the increased supplementary duty and gave an ultimatum: if the additional duty is not withdrawn by February 3, the import of fresh fruits through all land and sea ports of the country will be stopped from February 4.
But so far, as the Board of Revenue has not announced its decision to withdraw the increased supplementary duty, importers have been forced to stop importing fruits. For now, fruit imports will be closed for two days, February 5 and 6. If the increased duty is not withdrawn by then, the Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Imports Association will hold another program later.
Meanwhile, due to the increase in customs duty, a kilogram of apples is currently being sold at 300-360 taka per kilogram, depending on the type, malta at 300-320 taka per kilogram, orange at 250-300 taka per kilogram, grapes at 450-500 taka per kilogram, and pomegranate at 450-550 taka per kilogram in the retail market in Benapole.
Fruit seller Md. Rezaul Islam said that he has to sell the fruit at a higher price because he bought it from the market.
Ismail Hossain, a worker at the Benapole land port, said that more than a hundred trucks of fruits were imported through Benapole port every day. Now that it is closed, the workers have become unemployed.
Fruit buyer Abdur Wares said that the price hike before Ramadan will go beyond purchasing power. This decision will put more pressure on low-income people.
Fruit importer Zulfiqar Ali said that as per the association's decision, fruit imports have been stopped. They are not importing any fruit through Benapole port.
Benapole Port Warehouse Superintendent Tanjibur Rahman said that the revenue revenue has decreased due to the closure of fruit imports from India through Benapole Port due to the strike by fruit traders. The government will lose about one billion taka in revenue from Benapole Port due to the closure of fruit imports for two days due to the strike.#
Sender:-
Md. Monir Hossain Benapole Correspondent Jessore.
