The anti-India atmosphere and violence in Bangladesh is now affecting the oranges of India as well. However, it had started when Sheikh Hasina was the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and now the situation is that the import tax on 1 kg orange in Bangladesh has gone up to Rs 92. iss
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What is this controversy over oranges, and how is it affecting MP?
Read this report-
About 40 percent of oranges, known as Nagpuri oranges across the world, are produced in Madhya Pradesh. 99 percent of orange production in the entire country takes place in a total of 10 districts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
In this, Vidarbha’s Nagpur, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal, Kasim and Akola are Maharashtra’s production areas, while Pandhurna, Betul, Rajgarh and some parts of Mandsaur together form the orange production area of Madhya Pradesh. Orange grower Ajay Pal of Pandhurna district says, there are two crops of orange, Mrig Bahar crop and Ambiya crop. This is the season of Ambiya.
Five years ago the tax was only Rs 17 per kg Ajay Pal says that in 2019, Bangladesh used to impose import tax of Rs 17 on one kg orange, in 2020–21 it was increased to Rs 30 and next year to Rs 65. There was a bumper tax increase last year, so it was not expected that there would be a huge increase this time too, but the anti-India atmosphere in Bangladesh is having an impact. This time, a direct tax of Rs 92 is being imposed on one kg of our oranges.
There people are getting Rs 150 per kg of orange. In such a situation, will traders earn and will people eat?
I have been cultivating oranges all my life and have never seen a time like this. In Saunsar, the major hub of production in the orange belt, orange orchards are visible all around from the road to the heights of the plateaus. Orange trees at some distance and cotton crops in between are the specialties of this area. Here farmer Ghanshyam Bulle was found loading orange crates on the trolley, as soon as the conversation started he became upset. He said in a loud voice – Sir, I have spent my entire life engaged in orange farming, but I have never seen such a time.
In 2005, when I had 300 orange trees, I sold oranges worth Rs 3 lakh. In 2011, when I had 350 trees, I sold oranges worth Rs 6 lakh. The prices were good, the condition of the house was improving. I worked hard, day and night. Now I have 1100 trees. Today I have sold oranges worth 2.5 lakhs. There is no hope of getting much from the few that are left.
Ghanshyam says that many times one wonders whether the cost of plucking will be covered or not, but we have planted it with so much hard work, in such a situation, how can we let the fruit fall from the tree, I myself get involved in plucking, my son has done engineering, He has also been put to work. These oranges are produced only when the whole family works hard. We request you with folded hands to convey our pain to the government, otherwise the orange farmers will have to sacrifice their lives.
Not getting export orders from Bangladesh Despite a good orange crop this year, farmers in Pandhurna, one of the largest orange producing districts of Madhya Pradesh, are disappointed. The reason is that export orders are not received. Bangladesh is the largest importer of oranges. Now Bangladesh has increased the tax on import of oranges, due to which the demand for oranges has reduced. Due to lack of export, the best quality prices which were expected from abroad are not being available. The domestic market is already filled with goods, prices do not remain high here just like that. In such a situation, due to difference in demand and supply, farmers are not making profits.
Bangladesh orders orange stones duty free Ajay, a big orange producer who has gone to Bangladesh for business, says that the Bangladesh government has to pay the price in dollars for this fruit. This increases India’s foreign exchange reserves, hence Bangladesh does not want oranges to be imported but the same Bangladesh imports our stones duty free, because the soil there is friable. If you want to build a building, you have to dig a pit up to 50 feet deep. Then the roof has to be laid and a lot of stones are required.
The stones are not in Bangladesh. In such a situation, most of the imports come from India. If the Indian government wants to be a little stricter about the import of stones, then small issues like stopping the import of oranges can be solved just like that.
Collector said- We are trying to find a solution Collector Ajay Dev Sharma said that due to increase in import duty of Bangladesh, exports from our country have decreased. Orange producing farmers are facing problems. We are trying to find a solution to this. New markets are being explored for oranges.
Orange growers appeal, Indians should eat local fruits Orange growers say that the government of Bangladesh discourages the import of foreign fruit. The government there tells its people to eat banana, eat mango but do not eat orange. Here, we are abandoning our native good fruits and indiscriminately eating dragon fruits and foreign dates.
We should also see how the foreign exchange reserves of our country are going out due to the fruits coming from other countries, how it is causing loss, hence we should also eat more and more local fruits, they are also good for health and this is in the national interest. I am also there.
At present more than 800 tonnes are exported More than 40 trucks of goods are going towards West Bengal every day. Most of it will be exported. One truck carries about 20 tonnes of goods. In this way, 800 tonnes are being exported every day, but till four years ago it was three times this amount. Amid continuous decline in foreign demand, bumper production has caused market prices to drop sharply.
Loss to farmers, wholesale prices fall Although the export of Nagpuri oranges may have reduced due to arbitrary tax by Bangladesh, the largest importer of oranges, domestic consumers are not getting the benefit in that proportion. The biggest loss due to the entire impasse is being faced by the orange producing farmers who are not able to get even the price of Rs 5 per orange for their good quality oranges.
This is the normal price for exported oranges. In such a situation, middlemen traders are buying oranges from farmers at lower prices in the name of non-export. At the same time, the price of oranges in the domestic retail market has fallen from Rs 60 per kg to Rs 40.
No cold storage and processing plant To increase the income of orange producing farmers and promote its crop, orange was included in one product of one district of Chhindwara. It was branded as Satpura orange but neither cold storage was built for the oranges, nor processing plants were set up.
A new century cold storage unit for oranges was installed at Mehrakhapa near Saunsar tehsil, this unit ran smoothly for a few years. After this there was a dispute between the government and the operating company and it has been closed for the last five years. In such a situation, it remains the compulsion of the farmer to sell the crop immediately after production.