Bangladesh’s earnings from vegetable exports dipped to six-year low in the July-October period of the current fiscal year as high air-freight rates and increased prices eroded the competitiveness of fresh produce.
Exporters fetched just $15 million from air-shipping locally produced fruits and vegetables to Middle Eastern and European markets in the first four months of fiscal 2022-23, down 60 per cent from $38 million during the same period last year, shows data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).
“Over the last six months, airlines have hiked cargo fares at will. The air-freight cost has shot up 40 per cent over the last one year,” said Mohammad Mansur, general secretary of the Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters’ Association (BFVAPEA).
Besides, transport costs have increased following a hike in petroleum prices by the government in August this year.
As freight costs have gone up, importers, mainly in the Middle East, are showing a lack of interest for fresh farm produce from Bangladesh.
Instead, many of them are buying from West Bengal’s exporters, who are shipping vegetables and fruits through Kolkata, where the air-freight rate is much lower than in Bangladesh.