Rice import duty cut to control prices | BTTC wants duty-free rice imports

The Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) has asked the government to temporarily waive import duty on rice to boost supply and in turn curb prices of the staple food item in local markets.

To this end, BTTC yesterday submitted a report to the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Food and National Board of Revenue (NBR).

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, food inflation has remained above 10 percent for six consecutive months since April this year.

While the price of high-grade rice remained unchanged over the past month, the medium and large varieties, which are the most consumed, rose by 1.74 percent and 1.9 percent respectively over the same period, the BTTC report said.

The rise could be due to successive floods and inclement weather that have wreaked havoc on paddy fields across the country.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, two recent floods that occurred between August 16 and October 15 disrupted the production of 8.39 lakh tonnes of rice.

Earlier on October 20, the NDB reduced import duty on rice from 62.5 percent to 25 percent to stimulate imports and increase supply in local markets.

The NDB said that the reduction in duties will help reduce the cost of imports by 14.4 tenge per kilogram.

However, following the tariff reduction, importers have so far only ordered 26 tonnes of rice, the BTTC report said.

In this situation, essential rice imports will only be encouraged if duties are waived as part of efforts to stabilize market prices, the BTTC report said.

The report also said local producers are unlikely to suffer if rice is imported at international market prices, which will keep the price of imported rice higher than the price of rice grown in local markets.

Bangladesh needs between 3.7 and 3.9 crore tonnes of rice annually, most of which is met through domestic production.