UNB, Khulna :
Shrimp export from the district has come to a halt due to tough conditions set by National Board of Revenue (NBR) regarding collection of packaging materials and ‘unconcern’ of the customs authorities.
Failure to collect packaging materials for the conditions has resulted in a stalemate stalling export of frozen shrimp worth Tk100 crore, sources at Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) said.
According to a recent statement of the association, there are 60 shrimp processing unit in Khulna and 40 of them are now involved in shrimp export.
But the deadlock has been created as the customs authorities have recently attached conditions of opening inland letters of credit (LC) using foreign currency instead of local currency and back-to-back LCs for purchasing shrimp packaging materials (cartons and accessories).
Exporters’ sources said for the last one decade, they had been collecting locally-produced packaging materials from the bonded packaging firms in the country through local LCs rather than importing those of the international standard from abroad.
They had been using bonded packaging materials through submitting relevant documents, including PRCs, for LCs. Golam Mostafa, vice president of BFFEA, lamented that the Khulna customs commissioner had ordered to follow the condition of back-to-back LC in collecting packaging materials for shrimp export, a rule that is in force in the RMG industry.
Such conditions, he felt, were not necessary as frozen shrimp export does not require any imported raw materials, Mostafa said. It is for want of packaging materials that shrimp export has dwindled despite having adequate production and LCs for export, he said further.
The exporters have been trying to address this issue for a month, meeting with NBR officials, but to no avail.
An exporter said that he had stocked such a big amount of shrimp that there is no space left for newer lots and the old stocks are left to rot as he cannot export any. Another source said although there is a strong move to implement these new conditions set by NBR in the district, it is reportedly relaxed in other regions such as Chittagong and Sylhet.
A few insiders suspect that there is a conspiracy to destabilise the sector in an attempt to destroy the economical base of Khulna region. They believe this bureaucratic move would contradict the Prime Minister’s pledge to bolster export processes.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), 7o percent of the country’s shrimp export goes from Khulna.
Shrimp export from the district has come to a halt due to tough conditions set by National Board of Revenue (NBR) regarding collection of packaging materials and ‘unconcern’ of the customs authorities.
Failure to collect packaging materials for the conditions has resulted in a stalemate stalling export of frozen shrimp worth Tk100 crore, sources at Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) said.
According to a recent statement of the association, there are 60 shrimp processing unit in Khulna and 40 of them are now involved in shrimp export.
But the deadlock has been created as the customs authorities have recently attached conditions of opening inland letters of credit (LC) using foreign currency instead of local currency and back-to-back LCs for purchasing shrimp packaging materials (cartons and accessories).
Exporters’ sources said for the last one decade, they had been collecting locally-produced packaging materials from the bonded packaging firms in the country through local LCs rather than importing those of the international standard from abroad.
They had been using bonded packaging materials through submitting relevant documents, including PRCs, for LCs. Golam Mostafa, vice president of BFFEA, lamented that the Khulna customs commissioner had ordered to follow the condition of back-to-back LC in collecting packaging materials for shrimp export, a rule that is in force in the RMG industry.
Such conditions, he felt, were not necessary as frozen shrimp export does not require any imported raw materials, Mostafa said. It is for want of packaging materials that shrimp export has dwindled despite having adequate production and LCs for export, he said further.
The exporters have been trying to address this issue for a month, meeting with NBR officials, but to no avail.
An exporter said that he had stocked such a big amount of shrimp that there is no space left for newer lots and the old stocks are left to rot as he cannot export any. Another source said although there is a strong move to implement these new conditions set by NBR in the district, it is reportedly relaxed in other regions such as Chittagong and Sylhet.
A few insiders suspect that there is a conspiracy to destabilise the sector in an attempt to destroy the economical base of Khulna region. They believe this bureaucratic move would contradict the Prime Minister’s pledge to bolster export processes.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), 7o percent of the country’s shrimp export goes from Khulna.
