Import duty on rice coming down to 2%

The government has decided to lower the import duty on rice further, down to two percent, to encourage import and tackle any probable food crisis for flood.

Food Minister Qamrul Islam made the announcement before reporters after a meeting of Food Planning and Monitoring Committee this afternoon.

Also read: Food import to double

Additionally, the government has decided to increase the food grain import to 20 lakh tonnes for the public sector in this fiscal, the meeting decided as Qamrul said.

It will include 15 lakh tonnes of rice and 5 lakh tonnes of wheat.

Two months ago, the government slashed the import duty on rice and brought it to 10 percent in the backdrop of major market instability and storage of the prime staple.

Now, Bangladesh is experiencing a flood which is feared to be vastly devastating. It has already inundated the northern part, from where the majority of domestic rice supplies are harvested.

“This decision of the government does not indicate that there is a food crisis in the country,” Qamrul Islam said on this note. “In fact, there is no food shortage in the country.”

The food minister hoped that the coupled efforts will help ease the price of rice in the market.

Earlier today, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said that the price of the prime staple is higher in the market and that the government has the capacity to bear the additional cost.