Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir has urged fruit importers to open letters of credit (LCs) quickly and increase imports of oranges, dates and other imported fruits to boost market supply and keep prices under control.

He also announced that the government’s decision on duties and taxes on dates will be disclosed this week.

The minister made the remarks at a meeting with traders and representatives of relevant government agencies at the conference room of the Commerce Ministry at the Secretariat on Saturday to discuss ensuring adequate fruit supplies and keeping market prices stable.

The minister expressed dissatisfaction over the current price of oranges and asked traders to explain how the retail price had reached Tk520 per kg even after considering import costs, duties, taxes and other expenses.

He directed the Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection to take action if evidence is found of oranges being sold at abnormal prices, saying no opportunity would be given for unjustified price increases in the market.

Traders told the meeting that a shortage of supply was one of the main reasons behind the rise in orange prices. According to them, only 12 to 29 containers of oranges arrived in the country in some weeks, while around 15 containers are needed every day to meet normal demand.

Importers also said many traders had reduced orange imports due to high duties, transportation costs, complications involving ships and ports, and losses incurred on previous consignments.

They also pointed out that oranges, being perishable products, involve significant financial risks during transportation and storage.

After hearing the traders, the commerce minister assured them that the issue of duties on oranges would be reviewed. He also urged importers to increase imports from alternative sources and open LCs quickly to boost market supply within the next few weeks.

Minister urges traders to prepare for date imports

Considering the upcoming demand, the commerce minister urged traders to start preparing for date imports now. He said the government’s decision on duties on dates would be announced this week.

An initiative has also been taken to resolve the longstanding complexities surrounding the assessment value of imported dates. As part of the initiative, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission will hold a meeting with importers within the next few days.

At the meeting, the commission will seek to verify the international source prices of different qualities and grades of dates imported into Bangladesh and formulate a reasonable indicative price. A proposal in this regard will later be sent to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

The commerce minister said the duty assessment system must ensure that traders do not face unreasonable assessment, while also leaving no scope for evading government revenue by declaring lower prices for imported products.

Urging both the government and businesses to work with transparency and honesty, he said attempts at manipulation by either side could create a crisis of confidence in the entire system.