File Photo
The government has reduced rice import duty for the next
four months to increase supply and bring stability to the market. Rice import
duty has been reduced from 25 percent to zero. In addition, the regulatory duty
has been reduced from 25 to 10 percent. As a result, the total tax on rice
imports has come down from 62 percent to 25 percent.
Last Thursday (June 23, 2022), the National Board of Revenue
(NBR) issued an order in this regard. The new duty exemption will be valid till
October 31. The importer must get the permission of the Ministry of Food to get
the approval of this duty exemption. The NBR has covered this condition. The
NBR has reduced tariffs at the request of the food ministry to keep rice prices
stable.
The prices of daily necessities have started rising since
the last part of last year. Then in May this year, the price of edible oil
including soybean suddenly increased. It was expected that rice prices would be
lower during the Boro season. However, as soon as the Boro season rice started
coming to the market, the price of this staple food grain started rising. In
the wholesale markets of Dhaka, Kushtia and Naogaon, the price of rice increases
by Tk 2 to 5 per kg depending on the variety. It also affects the retail
market.
This time at the beginning of the Boro season, some paddy
has been wasted due to the advance water in the haor. In addition, due to
cyclone "Ashani", heavy rains across the country have damaged ripe
paddy. Meanwhile, wheat prices are rising as supply from Russia, Ukraine and India
has stopped in the world market. This is also affecting the market of
Bangladesh. The price of rice in the world market is also a bit higher.
Last Sunday, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)
released an update on the overall inflation for the month of May. It can be
seen that the inflation has suddenly crossed 7 percent. In May, the overall
inflation stood at 7.42 percent. Last April, the rate was 6.29. The last few
years have not seen such a big jump in inflation in a month.
|Source: Online/SZK
Comment Now