The exports of fresh vegetables decreased 57.93 percent year-on-year in the first six months of the current fiscal year, official figures showed.

Vegetables fetched $70.36 million in the July-December period of fiscal year 2023-24, and in the same period of fiscal year 2024-25 it was $29.60 million, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

Exporters say that exports have declined mainly due to rising prices, increased freight costs, and a fall in government incentives.

Kawser Ahmed Rubel, chief executive officer of Global Trade Link, a vegetable exporting company, told The Daily Star that airfreight costs have increased significantly.

Now, it costs about Tk 400 to export one kilogramme (kg) of vegetables, and sometimes it even goes up to Tk 450.

In fiscal year 2023-24, the cost of exporting vegetables per kg in winter was around Tk 300. Sometimes it was Tk 270 or Tk 280, he said.

Another reason is that the price of vegetables is higher this year compared to last year, he said, adding that those from whom they source vegetables say that output has decreased while cultivation costs have increased.

"Last year, we bought each kg of Jara lemon for Tk 70 or Tk 80. This year, we have to buy it for Tk 120 to Tk 130," Rubel said.

This year, the price of beans or long beans has increased by Tk 20 to Tk 30 per kg compared to that last year. The same goes for other vegetables.

He also pointed to a reduction in the last budget on cash incentives on the export of agricultural products from 15 percent to 10 percent, negatively impacting their exports.

In the case of his company, if he compares the July-December period of 2024-25 with the same period of the previous fiscal year, his exports decreased by about 40 percent.

The exporter also mentioned that sometimes air cargo is unavailable for vegetable exports, which is another reason behind the decline in exports.

Mushtaque Ahmad Shah, proprietor of Shah Traders, another exporter, said when they exported products to the UK in December last year, the freight cost per kg of vegetables was Tk 300 to Tk 350.

By 2024, it had increased to Tk 580, he said.

In one instance, the freight cost was increased twice in a single week, he added.

On the other hand, it costs Tk 220 to send each kg of vegetables from India to the UK. Naturally, unless there is something exceptional, no one will buy such products from Bangladesh, he said.

Babul Chandra Dey, another vegetable exporter, said if they compare the July-December period of fiscal year 2024-25 with the same period of the previous fiscal year, exports have decreased quite a bit.

The main reason behind the decrease in exports is that air cargo fares are quite high, he added.

Now the prices of vegetables are also high in Bangladesh. Due to this, exporters are having to do with low profits after buying products from farmers in Bangladesh, he added.

Due to this, when a buyer shifts sourcing from another country, it is very difficult to bring him back to Bangladesh, he said.

Babul also informed that they mainly export vegetables and betel leaves to Saudi Arabia.

SM Jahangir Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters' Association, told The Daily Star: "Our airfreight costs are higher than those of our competitors."

Exports have decreased as cargo space is often unavailable, he said.

If a UK importer buys products from Bangladesh, they will have to pay Tk 100 more per kg. And if they import it from India, they will have to pay Tk 100 less, he said.

Similarly, in the case of those in the Middle East, if they import products from Bangladesh, they will have to pay Tk 50 more and if they import it from India, they will have to pay Tk 50 less, he added.

Hossain said once an importer finds a country with competitive prices, they would no longer buy products from Bangladesh.

Again, exporters not being able to fulfil commitments due to a shortage of space in air cargo is another reason behind the decline in exports, he added.

The EPB data showed that vegetable exports were worth $164 million in fiscal year 2019-20.

Then, in the next fiscal year, it decreased to $118.73 million and in the following fiscal year, it decreased further to $99.91 million.

In fiscal year 2022-23, it decreased further to $61.14 million, but in fiscal year 2023-24 it jumped to $112.47 million, as per the EPB data.