KOCHI: The All Kerala Vegetable and Fruits Exporters Association has decided to stop export of vegetables and fruits from Kerala from November 25. The decision has been taken in view of the unaffordable freight charges and the Union government’s decision to impose GST on exports. The government had issued an order imposing 18% GST on air freight and 5% GST on ocean freight from October 1.
Though the Kerala Exporters Forum had submitted memorandum to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal seeking to remove the GST on exports, no decision has been taken in this regard, said secretary Munshid Ali.
For the first time in two years, export from India had recorded a 16.6% decline in October. The exporters said they are unable to compete with products from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh due to high freight charges and GST. Many exporters are forced to cancel orders as it is not viable to export vegetables due to the high charges, said forum president V K C Hameed Ali.