The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has withdrawn the import duty on onion which was 5 per cent. This order will remain in place till December 31. It also reduced import duty on sugar by 10 per cent from 30 per cent. As per the suggestion of the Bangladesh Tariff Commission, the Commerce Ministry requested NBR to cut tax and duty on onion, sugar and edible oil. NBR did withdraw the import duty on onions also in September 2020 in the wake of skyrocketing prices of the essential commodity. The import duty was restored to 5 per cent again from April this year. Market analysts however think that prices of essentials cannot be controlled only by cutting duty. This measure can just give temporary relief. Fuel and other commodity prices have increased in the international markets which are bound to affect our local market.
Importers have already called for another increase in edible oil prices. They maintain that they are being forced to sell oil at lower prices in the local market. But it has to be kept in mind that the prices of edible oil have increased multiple times in the last one year. Other essential commodities, including rice and flour, have also seen price hikes. Media reports have said food imports in the country have tripled in the last 10 years due to population growth. A sustainable and safe food supply has become a challenge for the country due to natural disasters and an increasing population. Checking prices of essential commodities without bumper crop production is simply a herculean task.
Under such circumstances, the government needs to put emphasis on strong market monitoring to check the price hike of essential commodities. It should also ensure reaching essentials such as rice, flour, sugar and onion to the lower-income people, especially those whose income decreased during the coronavirus period. Also, the food safety net programme’s purview should be increased. The social safety net programmes did not achieve desired results due to a faulty list of beneficiaries during the pandemic. Along with checking the price hike of essentials, the authorities must create avenues of income for the rural and urban poor.
