Date market size now worth Tk 2.0b
Saturday, 13 September 2008
Jasim Uddin Haroon
The country's date market is worth Tk 2.0 billion with the consumption gradually increasing in both urban and rural areas, importers told the FE Friday.
Bangladesh imports around 40,000 tonnes of date annually of which more than 90 per cent are consumed during the month of Ramadan.
"The market of date is more than Tk 2.0 billion a year," said Md Serajul Islam, a leading date importer and also general secretary of Dhaka fruit importers and wholesale association.
Sadhan Kumar, a leading date importer said: "We sell more than 90 per cent date during Ramadan." saying the demand for the date is also spiking in rural areas in recent time.
The estimate has been done on the basis of wholesale price at Tk 51 per kg. The wholesale price of date ranges between Tk 50 and Tk 51 a kg depending on the size and quality.
The government withdrew supplementary duty on the import of date to ease and stabilise its prices during the month of Ramadan although there is hardly any reflection of duty withdrawal in the retail market.
The retail prices of date ranged between Tk 90 and Tk 100 a kilogram on an average. It was between Tk 60 and Tk 70 before Ramadan.
Importers said the prices of date are higher in the local market as the government withdrew 20 per cent supplementary duty only after the release of a large quantity of date.
Importers said they usually import date for the Ramadan sales in April and May and the government had withdrawn the duty from July 2008.
Currently, importers are paying 20 per cent import duty, 3.0 per cent advance income tax, and 2.0 per cent landing and terminal charges.
They said the prices will drop shortly as there is enough stock in the country and a vessel carrying around 800 tonnes of date is scheduled to berth tomorrow (Sunday).
Sadhan said: "The wholesale prices could be much lower if the traders were able to import from Iran. This year the dates were imported from the UAE as the US government has imposed a shipping embargo on Iran."
The international market prices ranged between US$ 240 and $ 250 a tonne and the harvest of date starts from September to December in middle-east countries.
There around 30 importers in the country and they usually control the market. Over 100,000 fruit traders are involved in the business across the country apart from a large number of vendors and retailers.
The country's date market is worth Tk 2.0 billion with the consumption gradually increasing in both urban and rural areas, importers told the FE Friday.
Bangladesh imports around 40,000 tonnes of date annually of which more than 90 per cent are consumed during the month of Ramadan.
"The market of date is more than Tk 2.0 billion a year," said Md Serajul Islam, a leading date importer and also general secretary of Dhaka fruit importers and wholesale association.
Sadhan Kumar, a leading date importer said: "We sell more than 90 per cent date during Ramadan." saying the demand for the date is also spiking in rural areas in recent time.
The estimate has been done on the basis of wholesale price at Tk 51 per kg. The wholesale price of date ranges between Tk 50 and Tk 51 a kg depending on the size and quality.
The government withdrew supplementary duty on the import of date to ease and stabilise its prices during the month of Ramadan although there is hardly any reflection of duty withdrawal in the retail market.
The retail prices of date ranged between Tk 90 and Tk 100 a kilogram on an average. It was between Tk 60 and Tk 70 before Ramadan.
Importers said the prices of date are higher in the local market as the government withdrew 20 per cent supplementary duty only after the release of a large quantity of date.
Importers said they usually import date for the Ramadan sales in April and May and the government had withdrawn the duty from July 2008.
Currently, importers are paying 20 per cent import duty, 3.0 per cent advance income tax, and 2.0 per cent landing and terminal charges.
They said the prices will drop shortly as there is enough stock in the country and a vessel carrying around 800 tonnes of date is scheduled to berth tomorrow (Sunday).
Sadhan said: "The wholesale prices could be much lower if the traders were able to import from Iran. This year the dates were imported from the UAE as the US government has imposed a shipping embargo on Iran."
The international market prices ranged between US$ 240 and $ 250 a tonne and the harvest of date starts from September to December in middle-east countries.
There around 30 importers in the country and they usually control the market. Over 100,000 fruit traders are involved in the business across the country apart from a large number of vendors and retailers.