High excise duties charged by the governments of Bangladesh and India have affected orange exports in India's eastern state of West Bengal.
Huge quantities of oranges are exported from the state's Siliguri city during the winter season (from November to January) to Bangladesh, but the Bangladeshi government has been charging excise duty of 16 rupees per kilogram of oranges.
"The rate is not in sync with the yield because the oranges being exported from Bhutan to Bangladesh have been freed from excise duty but the Bangladeshi government charges 100 percent duty on oranges exported from India. That is why the farmers are losing huge amounts of money," said Partha Charaborty, an exporter from West Bengal.
The heavy duties have forced several exporters out of business.
Meanwhile importers in Bangladesh, too, are worried as excise duties increase the price of oranges significantly by the time they reach markets.
To add to the woes of Indian exporters, they face stiff competition from Bhutan, which exports oranges to Bangladesh without paying any excise duty despite Indian oranges being of better quality.
"We have come from Bangladesh. Every year, we come here to buy oranges. Compared to last year, this year the price is quite high, and our Bangladesh government is not lowering the duties. Bhutan duties are free but the duties charged by the governments are very high unlike Bhutan, which is hitting us badly," said Muhammad Babul, an importer from Bangladesh.
The consensus is that the governments should cut down the excise duties in order to sustain the trade of oranges with Bangladesh.
Every year, the orange trade with Bangladesh rises to over Rs 200 million but it gets significantly hit by the heavy excise duty charged on the traders.
Huge quantities of oranges are exported from the state's Siliguri city during the winter season (from November to January) to Bangladesh, but the Bangladeshi government has been charging excise duty of 16 rupees per kilogram of oranges.
"The rate is not in sync with the yield because the oranges being exported from Bhutan to Bangladesh have been freed from excise duty but the Bangladeshi government charges 100 percent duty on oranges exported from India. That is why the farmers are losing huge amounts of money," said Partha Charaborty, an exporter from West Bengal.
The heavy duties have forced several exporters out of business.
Meanwhile importers in Bangladesh, too, are worried as excise duties increase the price of oranges significantly by the time they reach markets.
To add to the woes of Indian exporters, they face stiff competition from Bhutan, which exports oranges to Bangladesh without paying any excise duty despite Indian oranges being of better quality.
"We have come from Bangladesh. Every year, we come here to buy oranges. Compared to last year, this year the price is quite high, and our Bangladesh government is not lowering the duties. Bhutan duties are free but the duties charged by the governments are very high unlike Bhutan, which is hitting us badly," said Muhammad Babul, an importer from Bangladesh.
The consensus is that the governments should cut down the excise duties in order to sustain the trade of oranges with Bangladesh.
Every year, the orange trade with Bangladesh rises to over Rs 200 million but it gets significantly hit by the heavy excise duty charged on the traders.
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