The Hindu Business Line : Duty hike by Bangla hits Malda mango exports

Export of the famous Malda variety of mangoes in West Bengal, which has witnessed a bumper crop this season, to Bangladesh has suddenly hit a roadblock, threatening many jobs in the district.

The Bangladesh Department of Revenue, according to commodity exporters of Malda district, has effected a more than 50 per cent increase in import duty on Indian mangoes entering the country via the various Bengal land border points of Hilli, Chengrabandha, Gojadanga Mohadipur and Petrapole, threatening to jeopardise mango exports from Malda, a major economic activity of the district which offered employment to lakhs of people.

Economic gains

Talking to Business Line from his Siliguri office, Mr Uzzal Saha, Joint Secretary of the Malda Merchants Chamber of Commerce, and an exporter himself, said out of the total production of some 13-14 varieties of mangoes in Malda, nearly 90 per cent was exported to Bangladesh, fetching substantial economic gains for the district.

He said the sudden hike in duty, from the prevailing levels of Rs 8-8.50 per kg to Rs 13.50 per kg for Indian mangoes, will severely hit India's mango exports, particularly from Malda in West Bengal, as the Bangladesh buyer will now back out from his contractual commitments owing to higher duties.

CM must intervene

Seeking urgent intervention of the Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who incidentally has additional charge of Food processing and Horticulture portfolios, Mr Saha said if a solution is not found to the problem at the governmental level between the two countries, Malda may suffer heavily. He put the current year's mango output at Malda around 2.5 lakh tonnes, against the district's total yield capacity of 3.5 lakh tonnes.

Asked why such a steep hike in import duty on mangoes has been effected by the Bangladesh government, Mr Saha felt it could be a ploy to make the Indian mangoes costlier and beyond the reach of the local populace.

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