Home ›› 18 Jan 2023 ›› Front
Bangladesh, in its planned revised proposal, will reduce the quantities of three essential food products it looks to import from India under an annual quota facility, said commerce ministry officials on Tuesday after a meeting on the issue.
A committee has already been formed to analyse 10 years of import data of the food items, officials said.
The commerce ministry meeting comes after India asked to propose reasonable quantities of the essentials objecting to an initial proposal from Bangladesh.
In response, the commerce ministry on Tuesday’s meeting decided to review its proposal, reducing the previously proposed quantity of sugar, rice, and wheat. The reviewed proposal will be sent to India in the first week of next month, according to commerce ministry sources.
Emerging out of the meeting, Tapan Kanti Ghosh, senior secretary of the commerce ministry, told The Business Post, “After reviewing the data on sugar, rice, and wheat imports in the last ten years, the specific amount will be fixed to propose to India. But it will be less than the previously proposed amount. A committee has been formed to analyse the import trend of the last 10 years.”
According to ministry sources, in the first proposal, Bangladesh sought annual import quotas of 4.5 lakh tonnes of wheat, 20 lakh tonnes of rice, and 15 lakh tonnes of sugar from India. Now, the quantities will be determined by reviewing the full data of 10 years of annual domestic production, import volume, and stock.
The commerce secretary said, “A five-member committee, headed by Commerce ministry additional secretary (FTA) Noor Md Mahbubul Haq, has been formed to determine the amount of product which Bangladesh would seek to import under the annual quota facility. Other members of the committee are representatives from the foreign ministry, food ministry, agriculture ministry, and Tariff Commission. This committee will submit its report within the next 10 days.”
He said, “In the case of onion, garlic, and ginger, the amount would remain the same as requested in the first proposal. India is not interested in exporting lentils under the quota facility. However, we will seek the quota facility for lentils again.”
According to officials, if Bangladesh gets this quota facility, the country’s people will not have to face problems if India suddenly imposes a ban on the export of any of these products. Bhutan and the Maldives get this facility from India.
According to the ministry sources, Bangladesh has proposed to import 7 lakh tonnes of onions, 30 thousand tonnes of lentils, 10 thousand tonnes of garlic, and 1.25 lakh tonnes of ginger annually under the quota facility.
Earlier in December last, the commerce ministry submitted a written proposal to the ministry of commerce and industry of India, seeking an annual permanent quota facility for the import of seven essential food products. Bangladesh requested India to confirm the quota amount in advance through notification.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi placed the proposal to his Indian counterpart at a meeting in New Delhi on December 23 last. India’s Commerce Minister Shri Piyush Goyal also assured to consider this proposal. However, despite agreeing to export the products, India raised objections over the specified amount of products.
According to the commerce ministry sources, the import amount of these seven daily commodities is increasing in recent years. Moreover, there is a fear of a possible global food crisis caused by the corona epidemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. As a result, it will be difficult for importers to ensure supply as per requirement. In this reality, Bangladesh is seeking the quota facility for easy import from India in any situation.
