Staff Reporter :
The farmers and rice mills owners are happy as the government has proposed 25 percent duty on rice import aiming to protect local farmers from any price debacle.
Apart from imposition of the Customs Duty on rice import, the government also slapped 10 per cent duty on rapeseed cake-soyacake against the previously 5.0 per cent in order to protect and promote local production. However, milk processors got a fiscal benefit as the government eased supplementary duty (SD) to 10 per cent from 20 per cent on import of stabilisers in the proposed budget.
The current CD on rice import is 10 per cent. The private sector importers imported 1.84 million tonnes of rice in the last 22 months from neighbouring India..
The import reached a record 1.49 million tonnes in the FY’15 due to no duty.
Later, the government imposed duties in two terms following the price fall of paddy but failed to make rice market vibrant.
“The huge imports and smuggled rice flooded the local market which caused massive price fall in the country”, said Subal Sarker, Secretary of the Bhumiheen Krishok Samity, an organisation that deals with landless farmers.
He further said rice prices declined to Tk 14-18 per kg (coarse), while paddy declined to Tk 450-550 per maund (40 kg), causing a loss of Tk 200-250 per maund.
Layek Ali, Secretary of the Bangladesh Auto Major Husking Mills Owners Association, expressed his satisfaction over the proposal and expected that it should be implemented immediately.
Farm economist and former director of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) Dr M Shahdat Hossain said the government should introduce a dynamic import-export policy to benefit both the farmers and the common consumers.
Government agencies should carry out market research on a regular basis and make immediate disclosures, he added.
The farmers and rice mills owners are happy as the government has proposed 25 percent duty on rice import aiming to protect local farmers from any price debacle.
Apart from imposition of the Customs Duty on rice import, the government also slapped 10 per cent duty on rapeseed cake-soyacake against the previously 5.0 per cent in order to protect and promote local production. However, milk processors got a fiscal benefit as the government eased supplementary duty (SD) to 10 per cent from 20 per cent on import of stabilisers in the proposed budget.
The current CD on rice import is 10 per cent. The private sector importers imported 1.84 million tonnes of rice in the last 22 months from neighbouring India..
The import reached a record 1.49 million tonnes in the FY’15 due to no duty.
Later, the government imposed duties in two terms following the price fall of paddy but failed to make rice market vibrant.
“The huge imports and smuggled rice flooded the local market which caused massive price fall in the country”, said Subal Sarker, Secretary of the Bhumiheen Krishok Samity, an organisation that deals with landless farmers.
He further said rice prices declined to Tk 14-18 per kg (coarse), while paddy declined to Tk 450-550 per maund (40 kg), causing a loss of Tk 200-250 per maund.
Layek Ali, Secretary of the Bangladesh Auto Major Husking Mills Owners Association, expressed his satisfaction over the proposal and expected that it should be implemented immediately.
Farm economist and former director of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) Dr M Shahdat Hossain said the government should introduce a dynamic import-export policy to benefit both the farmers and the common consumers.
Government agencies should carry out market research on a regular basis and make immediate disclosures, he added.
