A total of 123 tonnes of green chilli arrived in the country over the last three days from neighbouring India through the Benapole border in Jashore.
Of them, 45 tonnes came on Sunday and Monday, respectively, and 33 tonnes on Tuesday. Importers of Dhaka and Khulna brought the green chilli and are sending it to different parts of the country.
Abdul Jalil, director (traffic) at Benapole Land Port Authority, said five trucks carrying 33 tonnes of green chilli entered Benapole from India on Tuesday.
“So far, 123 MT of green chilli have entered the country and initiatives were taken to unload those rapidly,” he said, adding that they heard more trucks loaded with this perishable item are waiting at the India end to enter Bangladesh.
Kalimullah, revenue officer of the Benapole Customs House, said they have been completing all legal formalities to unload the consignments of the green chilli on a prioritised basis.
Benapole-based importer and also the owner of Usha Trading Rafiqul Islam Royal said Indian exporters collect the green chilli from different areas including Bangaon of West Bengal and then send it to Bangladesh.
Each kg of green chilli may cost Tk 150 to Tk 160 to reach the wholesalers of Dhaka, he said, adding that market toll and other relevant costs will be added to the wholesale price while it is sold at the retail level.
Indian exporter Firoz Biswas said the wholesale price of each kg green chilli in Bangaon is at 160 rupees on Tuesday while the retail price is at 300 rupees. Each kg of green costs only 70 rupees in India’s Nagpur.
The Bangladesh government approved importing 36, 830 tonnes of green chilli from India to address the shortage and curb the excessive price of the spicy item.
Each kg of green chilli exceeded Tk 1, 000 at the local markets when the country was celebrating the holy Eid-Ul-Azha.
Amid the severe criticism, the government was compelled to import green chilli.
