July-March export receipts from local farm products rise 6.14pc

The country's export earnings from agricultural products grew by 6.14 per cent to reach US$807.06 million during the July-March period of the current financial year over the matching period of last fiscal.

Bangladesh's fetched US$760.4 million from export of farm products during the same period of fiscal 2023-24, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.

Presently, the country exports a wide range of agricultural products like vegetables, tobacco, fruits, spices, dry food, betel leaves, animal or vegetable fats and oils, beverages and tea.

Official figures showed that the export value from agricultural products reached the one-billion-dollar mark for the first time in the fiscal year of 2020-21, fetching US$$1.08 billion.

The sector's earnings also rose further to US$1.1 billion in fiscal year 2021-22, according to the EPB data.

However, the earnings from the exports of farm products declined to US$827.1 million and US$964 million in the fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively.

Talking to the FE, Md Monirul Islam, DGM of Alin Foods Export Ltd, said some factors, including reduction of cash incentive by the government, have affected the sector's overall exports.

"For the last one year, the rate of cash incentive for the sector has been reduced to 10 per cent from the previous 20 per cent," he said.

The higher rate of cash incentive helped the exporters, especially the small ones, remain competitive in the global markets previously, he added.

Besides, the import costs for most of the agricultural inputs and other ingredients, used for processing foods, rose by 40 to 80 per cent, resulting in making the exportable products costlier as well as less competitive, he mentioned.

Such increased import costs have put small farms in dire straits, Mr. Islam said.

Apart from that, container charges, which went up significantly after the outbreak of Covid-19, are yet to fully come down to the pre-pandemic level, he said.

Such increased container charges have also increased the shipment costs, thus affecting the local exporters' competitiveness in the global market, he added.

Kamruzzaman Kamal, Marketing Director of PRAN-RFL Group, stressed the need for addressing the issues related to high freight costs and container charge to help boost the export earnings.

Another exporter attributed the decline in the exports of local farm products to higher prices of vegetables in the local market coupled with production of vegetables in desert lands of some Gulf countries in recent times.

Usually, expatriate Bangladeshis and workers staying in the Middle East are the major consumers of the locally produced and processed agricultural products.

Since vegetables are perishable items, there are usually exported by air, local exporters said, adding that paucity of required air spaces couped with higher freight charges is also responsible for it.

"Though the government gives advice for increasing exports, how can it be possible without addressing the problems the sector has been facing," said Mohammad Monsur general secretary of Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters Association.

Exporters also said that they are now facing financial problems due to non-availability financing support from banks.

Besides, higher rate of interest on bank loans is also affecting the overall business activities, they noted.

According to Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), the country exports more than 700 basic and processed food products to more than 140 countries.

The country's agriculture and food processing sector employs about 40 per cent of the total labour force and contributes about 16 per cent to the country's GDP. However, the local agro-food processing industry now contributes about 1.7 per cent to GDP and employs about 250,000 people.

Its share to the country's total exports now stands at around 3.5 per cent, according to BIDA.

Munni_fe@yahoo.com