Traders warn of halting fruit imports, demand reversal of duty hike

The Bangladesh Fresh Fruit Importers Association has announced that if the hike in supplementary duty on the import of the produce is not withdrawn by Monday, they will halt imports from Tuesday.

The organisation’s Vice President Mohammad Faruk Siddique made the announcement at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters Unity on Wednesday, bdnews24.com reports. 

Traders are unable to conduct their businesses due to the increase in the supplementary duty and are incurring "financial losses" on every shipment, he said.

“Where it was possible to sell a truck of fruits in a day in the past, now it is impossible to sell one across even three to four days. As a result, it is unfeasible to unload the goods from the port. On top of that, shipping and port demurrage have to be counted also.”

“So, if the supplementary duty is not withdrawn, the release of imported fresh fruits from all land and sea ports of Bangladesh will be halted indefinitely from Tuesday."

The government raised the supplementary duty on imported fresh fruit from 20 per cent to 30 per cent on Jan 9.

Faruk said the fruit produced domestically accounts for 35-40 per cent of the demand. The remaining 60-65 per cent of fresh fruits have to be imported from different countries.

"Most of the traders take loans from banks to conduct their business. At present, the bank's interest rate is high. The value of the dollar and inflation are also high. In such a situation, the imposition of additional duty on fresh fruits is nothing but a hasty decision."

The association’s President Serazul Islam said at present they are able to import half of the fruits they usually do and only about 20 per cent of it is being sold.