Home ›› 21 Sep 2021 ›› News
The demand for non-native fruits which are mainly import-dependent is on the rise in line with people’s growing consumption capacity and rising awareness of immune-boosting issues to fight coronavirus.
Fruits like orange, pomegranate, date, mandarin, kinnow, apple, grapes, orange and pears see an increased amount of import mainly from China, India, South Africa, Egypt, Bhutan, Brazil, Australia, United States, New Zealand and other countries.
A large number of oranges come from India while grapes from both China and India.
According to the data of Bangladesh Bank, in Fiscal Year 2020-21 Bangladesh’s fruit import grew by 39.12 per cent to $ 480 million, which was $ 345 million in the previous year.
It was observed that a large number of customers turn to imported fruits available in different city markets including Mirpur, Karwan Bazar, New Market, etc.
Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Importers Association General Secretary Md Serajul Islam said: “Fruit consumption has increased more in recent time than that in the past. The demand of imported fruits is high as many of them are not cultivated locally.”
“The rise in people’s income has shot up the demand for fruits and their consumption.”
The fruit market has expanded as shops are available in both rural and urban areas across the country. In the city, roadside vendors are also seen selling foreign fruits.
Serajul Islam claimed that during the Covid-19 lockdown their business nosedived as they could not make import.
He further said their importing cost has also gone up compared to what was evident during the pre-pandemic time.
A fruiterer Aslam Ahmed at Mirpur-1 Bazar said, “Currently, imported orange, pomegranate, date, mandarin, kinnow, apple, grapes, orange and pears have high demand among customers.”
“Higher income and middle-income groups are mainly purchasing fruits from us while people from lower income groups are finding it difficult to do so due to high prices.”
Talking to The Business Post, Redwanul Haque, a customer at Karwan Bazar said, “I am here to buy a little amount of fruits since prices are high. I prefer fruits to anything else since they are essential to boost our immune system during the pandemic.”
The data of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (Bari) suggests that the country has a demand of 11.68 million tons of fruits. It recommends consuming 200gm of fruits every day for a person.
The organisation also stated that the average daily fruit intake per person is only 82gm.
According to the Agriculture Information Service (AIS), a total of 72 types of fruits are cultivated in the country. Earlier, 56 types used to be grown all over the country.
Local fruit traders said guava, jackfruit, mango, banana, green coconut, pineapple, papaya and watermelon which are produced locally have also a high demand in the market.
