Bangladesh: Local fruit more expensive due to falling imports

Prices of locally grown fruits from Bangladesh have risen sharply as the demand for imported fruits has fallen. This was caused by the continued levy of import duties, the depreciation of the Bangladesh currency against the dollar and a 100% margin on the opening of letters of credit, pushing the price up by at least 30-40%. People are switching to locally grown fruits such as mango, banana, pineapple, papaya, guava and green coconut, which has led to the price increase, market experts said. According to information from the main fruit markets of the capital, locally grown mango was sold for Tk120-130 per kilo, bari-4 mango for Tk220, locally produced green malta for Tk120-150 and guava (both Barishal and Rajshahi varieties) were sold for Tk70-100. Domestically grown pineapple was sold for Tk140-180 per pair depending ...