95 pvt firms cleared for rice import

The government has been importing rice since last fiscal year, despite the Ministry of Agriculture claiming record rice production, as the high price of the staple grain has affected the low-income group particularly.

Similarly this year also it has been decided that private firms will be allowed to import rice at a slashed import duty to keep the domestic rice market stable.

As such, the Ministry of Food has given 95 private importers permission to bring in 4.09 lakh tonnes of rice.

“Private importers have been permitted to bring in 10 lakh tonnes of rice. The amount will be further increased if required,” Mohammad Ismail Hossain, Secretary at the Ministry of Food, told The Business Post.

On Thursday, the government more than halved the import tariff in the face of a spiral in the prices of rice even during the peak harvesting season of Boro, the largest crop, driven by speculation of crop losses, low yield for flood and unfavourable weather and hoarding by many traders.

As per a notification issued by the Internal Resources Division under the finance ministry, importers will be able to bring in rice by paying a 25.75 per cent import duty, down from 62.5 per cent earlier. Prices of all sorts of grains have shot up over the last month.