Imported fruit prices in Dhaka rose further after Ramadan duty cuts

In mid-March the government cut duty and tax on fresh fruit imports to keep prices within reach during Ramadan. Yet on Wednesday, 26 March 2025, traders in markets across Dhaka told Jagonews24 that imported fruit had become dearer, not cheaper, since the cut, with apples and black grapes up the most.

According to traders, apples had risen by up to Tk 100 a kg and black grapes by more than Tk 100 a kg, while malta and oranges were up by about Tk 20 to 30 a kg. No imported fruit could be bought for under Tk 300 a kg, putting them almost out of reach of low-income families.

On 9 January 2025 the interim government raised duty and VAT at various stages on more than a hundred goods and services, imported fruit among them. The Business Standard reported on 13 February that the total tax on fresh fruit imports then stood at 136.20 per cent, made up of 25 per cent customs duty, 20 per cent regulatory duty, 30 per cent supplementary duty, 15 per cent VAT, 10 per cent advance income tax and 5 per cent advance tax. Fruit prices rose even before Ramadan.

Following traders' demands, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued orders on the night of 17 March cutting the supplementary duty on fresh fruit imports from 30 to 25 per cent and fully waiving the 5 per cent advance tax. Prothom Alo reported that the relief covered fresh or dried oranges, grapes, apples, pears and citrus fruit and was to run until 30 June. A few days earlier, a separate notification had cut the advance income tax on fruit imports from 10 to 5 per cent. The NBR said the aim was price stability during Ramadan. Even so, imported fruit prices in the market did not come down.

On 26 March, depending on the market, green apples sold for Tk 400-450 a kg, against Tk 300-320 a few days earlier. Gala apples sold for Tk 400-430, up from Tk 350-360, while large apples were a little cheaper at Tk 320-350 a kg.

Black grapes, which had sold for Tk 350-400 a kg a few days earlier, had reached Tk 500-550. Green grapes were Tk 300-320, up from Tk 250-280. Malta sold for Tk 300-320, up from Tk 270-300, and oranges for Tk 300-350, up from Tk 280-300. Pomegranates were Tk 650-700 a kg, a price that had not risen afresh.

Nannu Mia, a fruit seller in Segunbagicha, told Jagonews24 that every kind of fruit was dearer. That day he had paid Tk 700 more for a carton of apples at the wholesale arat; a carton holds about 18 kg. He said apples had gone up by Tk 100 a kg in 10 to 15 days, and he expected further rises because of talk at the arats that fruit stocks were low. Ali Hossain, another Segunbagicha trader, said prices had been high since the start of Ramadan and that people had cut back their buying, many walking away on hearing the price.

Idris Ali, a fruit seller in Rampura, said he had sold green apples for Tk 350 a kg only days earlier, but wholesale prices had risen so much that he could not sell below Tk 420. Oranges he used to sell for Tk 300 a kg now went for Tk 350, and with sales down he now also sold watermelons and bananas. Amena Begum, who had come to Rampura market for oranges, said she could not afford fruit at Tk 350 a kg and was leaving without buying.

Importers had earlier blamed taxes, a weaker taka and inflation. In a New Age report of 5 March, Md Serazul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Importers Association, said various duties, the depreciation of the taka and inflation had pushed imported fresh fruit beyond the buying capacity of ordinary consumers, adding that importing Tk 100 worth of fruit meant paying more than Tk 136 in tariffs. The same report said local production met only 40 per cent of the country's fruit demand.

Photo: Yahya / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources: Jagonews24, Prothom Alo, Dhaka Tribune, The Business Standard, New Age