Due to low response from farmers, Marketing Department withdrew the scheme meant to overcome abnormally high duties imposed by Bangladesh, the biggest export market for oranges. 

 

Maharashtra Government has decided to scrap the 50 per cent import duty refund scheme introduced to help orange growers overcome duty hurdle for exporting the table fruit to neighboring Bangladesh, the biggest export market. The decision stems from its low offtake and criticism that the scheme only benefited traders plus middlemen and not the actual growers for whom the support was intended. The scheme was introduced in year 2023 after Bangladesh revised the duties from 2019, latter increased it three times from Rs 20/kg to Rs 63/kg and at one point of time it breached Rs 100/kg mark, following which traders from neighbouring country turned their back on orange belt of Vidarbha. The Marketing Department of State Government which was overseeing implementation of the scheme but despite subsidy intervention, the orange export to Bangladesh did not materialise, one major reason was long delay in port clearance and also at the border checkpoints, which virtually strangulated the trade.

 

During the last 3-years, the review of the scheme seemed to have revealed that not many orange growers stepped forward to take the advantage. The economic survey tabled by State Government during budget session in month of March, the Co-operative Department mentioned about lack of any impact on export of oranges, mentioning that in terms of qulaity it was down by 87 per cent and 90 per cent in terms of value from 2020-21. So it was then clear that the scheme is likely to be rescinded.

 

Nagpur and Amravati district has maximum orange cultivation, mainly the area of Katol to Warud forms the homogenous belt where the fruit is grown. Bangladesh was the only country through which the fruit was rexported to other Asean countries and hence the orange cultivator were extensively dependent on traders from the neighbouring country. However as the relations soured post ouster of Sheikh Hasina, the orange cultivator were the hardest hit as Bangladesh hiked custom duty and also import additional import duty that left the trade uneconomical. Against that there was zero duty for export of fruits from China, Bhutan and South Africa.

 

Apart from duty hike, the other major reason for low response by cultivators here was the forex and liquidity crisis, that many could not hold onto the fruit and sourced local market. Traders here said that exporters were against heavy odds, the Letters of Credit from Bangladesh Banks got delay as the country grappled with shortage of foreign exchange. Further post souring of relations between the two country, the trade was the first casualty as border crossing bottlenecks took unreasonably long time to get resolve. Given the low shelf life for fruit, with trucks remaining detained at border neat West Bengal with Bangladesh for weeks, the traders found it difficult to source the oranges. Orange is cultivated in roughly 80,000 to 1,25,000 Ha in Vidarbha region, with Amravati District accounting for lion's share, about 78,000 Ha, while Nagpur District has about 45,000 Ha. In Amravati the region of Warud, Morshi sees the cultivation of the table fruit while Nagpur it is Katol and Narkhed plus Kalmeshwar. Besides some areas in Yavatmal and Wardha besides Akola also has orange orchards.