Poor maintenance of an explosive detection system (EDS) at the Dhaka airport has repeatedly been putting exporters in trouble.

The machine breaks down often resulting in disruption and even halt of the export of perishable goods, causing financial losses and putting the country at risk of losing out at vegetables market in Europe.

It was the lone active EDS at the airport until yesterday when two other machines, installed around 14 months ago, were validated by the authorities in the UK, said airport officials.

Sources at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport said the machine went out of order four times in the last seven months.

"It last went out of service on March 9. It has not been fixed yet," an official told The Daily Star.

The airport has a total of four such machines. The other one has been non-functional for almost five years.

Talking to The Daily Star recently, exporters expressed concern over the poor maintenance of the machines.

They asked why the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (Caab) failed to arrange spare parts for them.

According to the UK Aviation Regulation, agricultural products scanned on any device other than an EDS are not allowed to enter the country.

After the EDS became non-functional on March 9, exporters incurred a loss of over Tk 125 crore, according to Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters' Association (BFVAPEA).

As per the recommendations of the UK authorities, Caab installed two EDSs at the HSIA in 2017 for improving the safety standard of the airport to the level of the European Union.

However, of the two installed EDS, one has not been working properly since its installation because of maintenance issues, said airport sources.

The problem in scanning intensified over the last two years when both the machines failed to run properly due to laxity in maintenance.

Besides, Caab took almost 14 months to make operational the two other machines, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).

Caab had been assuring exporters for almost a year that the two JICA-funded EDSs would be operational soon.

Caab Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman said the two US-made EDSs cost Tk 17 crore each and their warranties expired in 2020. Since then Caab has been operating them by "maintaining them regularly".

The Caab chairman also said the two EDSs were supplied by a local business group who had no in-depth knowledge regarding their maintenance, which caused delays in fixing them when they broke down.

"We had to bring in technical experts from Malaysia or India to fix the problems," said the Caab boss.

Asked, Group Captain AHM Touhid-Ul Ahsan, immediate-past executive director of HSIA, said the EDSs break down were due to issues with their parts.

"We cannot fix them immediately as it is hard for us to manage spares."

Meanwhile, a top official at Caab said they were taking measures so that the EDSs could serve without interruption.

"We are planning to procure spare parts which are frequently needed," he said, wishing anonymity.

For vegetable exporters, who fetched $164 million in fiscal 2019-20, Europe is the second biggest destination after the Middle East.

According to BFVAPEA, which has over 200 members, 120 tonnes of agricultural products and perishable items from Bangladesh are exported to different countries of the world daily. Of this, 80 percent goes to the UK.

BFVAPEA General Secretary Mansur Ahmed said, "If we can't export on time, buyers won't wait for us. They will import from other countries.

"India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, who are entering the EU and the UK markets, continue to take this opportunity."

Mansur added that export of betel leaf to Europe have already stopped.

"And if the situation continues, buyers will not want to import perishable goods from Bangladesh," he said in a note of warning.

Leaders of BFVAPEA said they are now exporting very little to the EU countries by scanning the freight in Qatar, which costs a lot.

They said Qatar Air can carry a maximum of two tonnes.

Surviving in a competitive market this way was unrealistic, they added.

Seeking anonymity, an official said two shipments of vegetables were exported to UK yesterday using the two EDSs.