look news india
Orange farmers from Maharashtra used to send 6,000 tonnes of the fruit a day to Bangladesh till last year, but the trade has declined after Dhaka increased the import duty on oranges from Rs 20 per kg in 2019 to Rs 88 per kg in November 2023. The price of oranges in Bangladesh is so high that it is no longer a profitable deal for local traders to buy oranges from India. So the farmers of Maharashtra are going to suffer huge losses.
farmers suffered losses
Farmers in Vidarbha believe Bangladesh has increased import duty in retaliation after it banned the export of local food staple onion to protect the local market. Late last month, the government eased the export ban on onions, which was imposed in December last year, allowing its export to Bangladesh, UAE, Bhutan, Bahrain, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. It is not clear whether the government will reduce the import duty on oranges, especially when onion exports to Bangladesh begin. If this happens, farmers in Maharashtra, the country's largest orange producer, will get some relief for the next harvest in December.
Orange consumption in Bangladesh
The report quoted farmers as saying that Bangladeshis crave Nagpur oranges after every meal because their juicy fiber has the right pH value to soothe the stomach after a meat-heavy meal, which is common in that country. Is. In a tit-for-tat trade fight, it's not just the oranges who suffer losses.
The government also accepted
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had admitted in the Lok Sabha in December that India's orange exports had been affected by Bangladesh increasing import duty rates. Goyal said India had requested Bangladesh to reconsider the policy in the interest of orange farmers in India, but was told that it was applicable to imports from all countries without any discrimination.