Aizawl: Export of ginger produced in Mizoram has been severely disrupted due to the closure of the Indo-Bangladesh border in the wake of the Indo-Pakistan conflict, an official said.
Malsawmi, chief executive officer (CEO) of Starfirm, a company that exports ginger from Mizoram, said that the suspension of exports due to the closure of the international border by Bangladesh, the largest importer of Indian ginger, has adversely affected exporters and severely impeded trade resulting in the sharp decline of ginger prices across the country.
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She said the suspension of exports to the neighbouring country had caused a huge stockpile of ginger in other Indian cities, preventing the export of Mizoram’s ginger to those cities.
She said that the prices of ginger have been on a continuous downward slide since the sealing of the Indo-Bangladesh border.
Malsawmi said ginger prices have plunged to Rs. 28 per kilo in Delhi’s wholesale markets, while in Assam’s Silchar and Siliguri-key markets for Mizoram’s ginger-they have dropped to as low as Rs. 17 per kilo.
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She said that the drastic drop in ginger prices has severely affected Mizoram’s farmers as well as the state’s economy.
She said the sharp fall in prices has also severely affected the market support price given to farmers.
Officials from Mizoram’s agriculture department said they have already sold all the ginger procured from farmers under the flagship ‘Bana Kaih’ (Hand Holding) programme during the first phase, which ended on February 20.
However, the government faces export challenges for ginger collected in the second phase from April 21 due to the sealing of the Indo-Bangladesh border amid Indo-Pakistan tension and political instability in Bangladesh.
Mizoram shares a 318-km-long border with Bangladesh.
A senior police officer said police, paramilitary forces, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), and the intelligence department recently held a meeting in Aizawl to strengthen security along the Mizoram sector of the Indo-Bangladesh border.
The meeting instructed the Border Security Force (BSF), which guards the Indo-Bangladesh border, to intensify vigil to prevent cross-border terror activities, he said.