Bangladesh
Rice Import India imposes 20% duty on rice exports
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, Sept 10: The Indian government has imposed a 20 percent duty on rice exports to Bangladesh. Traders in the country told importers at Hili land port in Dinajpur that it has come into force from Friday (September 9).
Rashedul Islam, C&F agent of Hili port, said, "India has been exporting rice as a duty-free product for a long time. But on Thursday night, Indian C&F agent traders announced the imposition of a 20 percent duty on rice exports. Along with this, the Indian businessmen have been informed by a letter from the Government of India that this new duty will be effective from Friday."
Mostafizur Rahman, general secretary of the Hili land port import and export group, said that the government decided to reduce the rice import duty from 62.5 percent to 25 percent in order to maintain normal supply and price control in the country's market. Along with this, when the import was allowed at the private level, the import of rice through the port started on July 23.
Licensed importers started importing rice through different ports of the country including Hili. On August 28, the government reduced the import duty on rice from 25 percent to 15 percent. Since then, as the import of rice through the port has increased, the price of rice has been decreasing to Tk 4-5 per kg. But in the meantime, the Indian government has made a new announcement.
He said, "India will impose tariffs like this and the price of rice will increase again. Talks are going on with Indian businessmen about the matter. The import of rice will depend on how the price of rice will increase as a result of the imposition of this new duty. Import-export is closed today due to the weekend. The situation will be understood when import and export start through the port on Saturday."
