Orange export to Bangladesh from Gelephu will start very soon. However, exporters are worried they won’t get any skilled labourers. The Labour Ministry approved the import of ten labourers for each exporter last week. But the decision was revoked on Wednesday.
Exporters are busy constructing sheds at the orange depot in Gelephu today. Oranges from nearby districts will all come to the depot. It will be sorted, graded, packed and exported to Bangladesh from there. Exporters say anyone can do the packing but they need skilled workers to sort the oranges.
“Most of our people don’t have knowledge in grading and sorting oranges. They can only do the packaging. For grading, we need at least ten workers from outside,” said an exporter in Gelephu.
When the ministry approved the import of labourers last week, seven exporters applied for ten labourers each. Some of them even made advance payments to import labourers after receiving approval from the ministry.
“We received approval on the 4th of this month. We transferred advance to our Indian counterpart thereof. I have transferred Nu 80,000, and some depots even transferred Nu 100,000,” added another exporter.
Worried that they will neither get skilled workers nor their money back, they approached the Bhutan Exporter Association office in Gelephu. The office is waiting to hear from the Dzongkhag Administration.
According to the Regional Labour office in Gelephu, the approval for the labour import was a mistake from Thimphu. The office says they want Bhutanese skilled workers to work in the orange export business. The office also said import of labour will only be approved if there are not enough Bhutanese workers.
Bhutan exported over 650 truckloads of orange worth more than Nu 182 M to Bangladesh last year.
Karma Wangdi, Gelephu
Edited by Sonam
