Ctg customs to auction 177 tonnes of milk powder, ginger, orange

The Chattogram Custom House will auction off around 177 tonnes of orange, ginger and milk powder worth Tk 4.29 crore tomorrow, which were brought in through Chattogram Port at early 2022 but the importers did not take delivery of the goods.

Bidders will be able to buy these food items imported in eight refrigerated containers and an open auction will be held at the Customs Auction Hall at 11.30 am.

The reserve price of 110 tonnes of powdered milk was estimated at Tk 3.34 crore, the price of 46 tonnes of ginger was estimated at Tk 58.64 lakh and the price of 21 tonnes of oranges was estimated at Tk 36.02 lakh.

The custom authorities completed miking covering around two kilometres surrounding area of the customs auction shed on Sunday to increase participation in the auction.

However, the customs officials fear that the bidders' interest will decrease as the quality of these products has deteriorated as those were imported nearly one and a half years ago.

Three importers brought in the goods: M/S GSR Agro International, M/S Sikder Ventures and Deshbangla Food and Beverage Ltd in a period between February to August in 2022.

The powdered milk will be expired in only four months as March 14 of 2024 is its expiration date.

A customs official said businesses mainly skip taking delivery of the imported goods—especially fruits—if they find the market price of the goods are lower than the import value.

The importers usually need to take delivery of their imported goods within 30 days after the goods are unloaded from ships at the port jetty.

After the 30-day period, the customs authority issues a notice to the importer and wait for another 15 days.

The authorities can sell the goods through auction if the importer does not show up after the end of the 15-day window.

The customs will not get the desired price as the goods will be up for auction nearly one and a half years after their import, SM Najer Hossain, president of the Chattogram division of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, told The Daily Star.

"The goods were auctioned twice before, but those remained unsold as it did not fetch the desired price. Now, an open auction has been organised so that it can be sold quickly," Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram Custom House Mahfuz Alam told The Daily Star.

The goods will be released after examining their quality through related departments, he said.