Betel nut export to India thru' Benapole doubles

Betel rut loaded Bangladeshi trucks waiting at Benapole check-post for clearance. Export of the item to India has doubled this year.Photo: STAR

Betel nut export to India through Benapole port has doubled in the current fiscal year due to its growing demand in the Indian markets.
Forty six thousand six hundred and forty-eight tonnes (MT) of betel nut worth Tk 246 crore have been exported to India in the first 8 months, said Md Akbar Hossain, joint commissioner of Benapole customs house.
In the last fiscal year, 24347 tonnes of betel nut worth Tk 122.3 crore were exported to India through the land port, the joint commissioner added.
The betel nut exporters, however, complain of facing harassment by Indian customs authorities' through tightening quality control process.
Touhidul Islam, a betel nut exporter, said demand for Bangladeshi betel nut in Indian markets is on the rise. The present price of per tonne betel nut is $720, he added.
He also complained of delay in unloading trucks in the name of quality control.
Abul Kalam Azad, director of Benapole Land Port, said 15 to 20 truckloads of betel nut are exported to India every day.
“It takes 10 to 12 days for getting a betel nut loaded truck released due to delay on Indian side at though we are allowing the trucks on daily basis”, he said.