Fresh fruits imports have been witnessing a declining trend for the past few years, according to the traders, mostly due to raising various types of duties, depreciation of taka against US dollar and inflationary pressure which impacted the living costs.
According to the fruit importers, the duties on imported fruits such as apples, oranges, grapes, pears, citrus, and pomegranates have steadily increased, resulting in less fruit consumption and making the source of nutrition a luxury one.
Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Importers Association president Md Serazul Islam told 抖阴精品 that the prices of imported fresh fruits went beyond the buying capacity of regular consumers due to various duties, depreciation of taka, and inflation.
He also explained that if they import a unit of fruits for Tk听100, they must pay various tariffs of more than Tk听136 and, after transport and shipping costs, the price of Tk 100-fruit stands at Tk听250.
Bangladesh Bank data stated that from June 2022 to March 2025, the taka depreciated by about 31 per cent against the US dollar. In June 2022, the exchange rate of the US dollar was Tk听93, which depreciated to Tk听122 in March 2025.
Meanwhile, the country鈥簊 inflation rate has been high over the past years, more than 9 per cent since March 2023. Average inflation was 10.34 per cent in 2024 and declined slightly to 9.94 per cent in January 2025.
These multifaceted factors deterred the importers from importing fruits on a large scale and barred the consumers from consuming more.
In the 2021-22 financial year, the total customs duty for fruit was 89.32 per cent, rising to 113.80 per cent in FY23. Due to further increases in the duty, the rate currently stands at 136.20 per cent.
According to the National Board of Revenue, fruit importers must pay 30 per cent supplementary duty, 20 per cent regulatory duty, 25 per cent customs duty, 15 per cent VAT, 10 per cent advanced income tax and 5 per cent income tax.
Among these, the government imposed 20 per cent regulatory duty in mid-2022听as part of the then government鈥檚 objectives to discourage fruit imports and contain volatility on the foreign exchange market.
Moreover, the government recently hiked the supplementary duty on fruit imports to 30 per cent, which was previously 20 per cent.
According to data from the Plant Quarantine Station of Chattogram seaport, Bangladeshi importers imported 3,39,894 tonnes of fresh fruits in FY24, compared with that of 4,17,365 tonnes in FY20.
Fruit consumption typically increases during Ramadan. However, traders are still uncertain whether to import more fruits this season as the demand has declined significantly.
However, they hope the government would promptly reduce the duty and make fruits more affordable.
Bangladeshi traders imported 3,86,410 tonnes of fresh fruits in FY23, 4,80,213 tonnes in FY22, and 4,65,322 tonnes in FY21.
In the first half or July-December of FY25, traders imported 1,54,426 tonnes of fresh fruits.
BFFIA president Md Serazul Islam said that because the government labelled fruits as luxurious goods, importers had to open LCs on a 100 per cent margin. 鈥楩or this reason, the importers reduced importing fruits in fear of incurring losses. We don鈥檛 know why a source of nutrition is regarded as luxurious goods,鈥� he added.
Only 40 per cent of the total demand for fruits is met by locally grown fruits.
According to the BFFIA, Bangladeshi traders import 38 varieties of fruit from 22 countries worldwide. Apples, malta, oranges, grapes and pineapples account for 95 per cent of total imports. The remaining 5 per cent consists of pears, kinnow, kadabel, avocados, rambutans and kiwis.
Bangladesh imports the major portion of its fruits from countries like China, South Africa, India, Egypt, Bhutan, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.
He said that they had already staged a human chain protest before the NBR to reduce the duties, saying the regulatory duty was currently non-relevant for the country.
鈥楾he NBR assured us that they would try their best to do something in the upcoming budget,鈥� he added.
Meanwhile, wholesale traders of Falmandi, the largest wholesale fruit market in Chattogram, said that the stock of foreign fruits had decreased compared with that of other times and so had their sales.
Nasir Uddin Mahmud, organising secretary of the Chattogram Fruit Traders Association, told 抖阴精品 that current fruit prices had exceeded the reach of middle-class consumers.
The primary reason behind this price surge is import duty. He added that transportation costs, storage charges and other associated expenses had further driven up the price of imported fruits.
They formed a human chain recently and submitted a petition to the ministry, urging a reduction in import duties. 鈥笰 decision was expected at the beginning of Ramadan, but we have yet to receive any update,鈥� he said.