Earnings from spice exports rise 25%

Bangladesh's earnings from spice exports increased 25 percent year-on-year in the first three months of fiscal 2023-24 due to demand from expatriates of Bangladesh and other Asian countries.

Bangladesh earned $11.25 million in the July-September period of the current fiscal year from spice exports, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data.

Although export earnings have been increasing for the past three years, they still have not hit the heights of the same period in the fiscal year 2020-21. At that time, spice exports brought in $12.14 million, an increase of 41 percent from the previous fiscal year, as per EPB data.

Despite huge potential in the global market and over one crore Bangladeshi expatriates living around the world, the country has so far failed to increase its number of export destinations, according to market players.

Manufacturers said another major factor is the lack of facilities that provide sterilisation of spices through irradiation.

There are three types of spices -- whole, powdered and mixture -- currently being exported from Bangladesh.

The spices most in demand are turmeric (organic base), red dried chilli, sesame (black, white brown and red), coriander seed, black cumin seed, cumin seed (sweet), fenugreek seed and fenugreek leaf.

Major export destinations include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The United States, Canada and the European Union also have big markets.

"Bangladeshi spices have huge potential on the global market. But Bangladesh is still unable to meet export demands due to a lack of government support," said Md Parvez Saiful Islam, chief operating officer at Square Food and Beverage Ltd.

"We face challenges in doing the irradiation process to ensure global standards. There is a lack of capacity at the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, hindering the growth potential," he added.

The government should increase irradiation facilities to capitalise on this growing opportunity, he said.

Square Food and Beverage Ltd exports spice products to more than 30 countries regularly.

Kamruzzaman Kamal, director of marketing at Pran-RFL Group, said the market is rising as global demand rebounds in the post-pandemic period.

"Basically, non-residential Asians currently living in the Gulf and western countries are the major consumers of Bangladeshi spices," Kamal said.

"A huge number of non-residential Asians have returned to work in the post-pandemic era. As a result, consumption has increased," he said.

The Pran Group accounts for almost 70 percent of the nation's total spice exports. Other exporters include BD Foods Ltd, Alin Food Products Ltd and ACI Foods Ltd.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Mohammad Jahangir Alam, a Professor at the Department of Agribusiness and Marketing at Bangladesh Agricultural University, said the country should at first think about import substitutes for major spice products.

"Every year, Bangladesh has to spend a huge amount to import spices from abroad. We can focus on import substitutes by raising production by setting targets," he said.

According to Bangladesh Bank data, the country spent $417.30 million on spice imports in fiscal year 2022-23. In the same period, Bangladesh exported spices worth $42.38 million.

"Sometimes, the prices of onion and chillies become unstable in the domestic kitchen markets."

As a result, the government has to allow imports in order to drive prices down.

"We cannot think about the production of all spices since we have a scarcity of land," he added. "However, we should focus on the export of selective spice products as we have demand from over one crore non-residential Bangladeshis around the world."