Cashew nuts are now being cultivated in the mountainous regions of the country. A processing factory has also been built. Keeping in mind the market expansion of domestic cashew nuts, the proposed budget for the next fiscal year 2024-25 has proposed to impose a 15 percent duty on the import of the product.
Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali said this in the proposed budget raised in the National Parliament on Thursday (June 6).
He said, for the protection of entrepreneurs of the country, 15 percent duty will be imposed on the import of cashew nuts. Out of this 5 percent import duty and 10 percent regulatory duty.
The demand of cashew nuts in the country is 20 to 25 thousand tons. Whereas in the last financial year, the production of cashew nuts in the country was 2 thousand 500 tons. Currently there are about 5000 cashew plantations in the country.
Government has taken up ‘Cashewnut and Coffee Research, Development and Extension Scheme’ to expand cashew nut cultivation. Shahidul Islam, director of this project, told Jago News, ‘If the price of foreign cashew nuts increases, the interest in domestic cultivation will increase. Good initiatives have been taken in the budget.’
At present, 22 cashew nut processing factories have been set up in the country. These factories have been set up completely privately. The marketing of cashew nuts produced in the country is facilitated by the establishment of processing plants. Demand for domestic cashew nuts is also increasing day by day at the consumer level. Cashew nut market in the country is about 700 crore rupees.
A few companies including BSRM and Kazi Group are setting up processing plants at a cost of around Tk 250 crore for export purposes.
NH/ASA/MS
