Finance
Rice Imports All rice imports to be completed by March 15
Dhaka, February 27: All the rice allocated for private import will have to be brought by March 15. A letter was sent to the Director General of the Food Department from the Ministry of Food on Thursday (February 25th) restricting the importers to this time.
It said that the time limit has been extended till March 15 for the marketing of complete LCs of those importers who have opened LCs but have not been able to market rice.
Muhammad Mahbubur Rahman, senior assistant secretary (foreign procurement) at the food ministry, told Jago News that companies licensed to import rice have been told how long it takes to market rice after opening an LC. This time is also different for different amounts. Now the last time for marketing rice is March 15 for everyone. '
He said, ‘Rice trucks cannot enter the land ports due to the congestion of trucks. As time went on, many trucks were stuck, so the time has been extended. '
The government has reduced the import duty on rice from 72.50 per cent to 25 per cent at the private level to curb the rising trend of foodgrains, help the low-income population and keep the market price stable.
The Ministry of Food has asked the legal importers to apply to the Ministry of Food by January 10 with all the required documents for private import of rice on December 26.
The Ministry of Food has allowed a total of 320 individuals / institutions to import 10 lakh 14 thousand 500 tons of rice on various conditions. The letter of permission was sent to the Ministry of Commerce. In terms of rice imports, the letter of credit (LC) must be opened within seven days of the issuance of the allotment. The Ministry of Food should be informed about this immediately by e-mail. Among the traders who have been allotted one to five thousand tonnes, they have to market 50 per cent of the rice within 10 days of opening the LC and the rest within 20 days.
Besides, the food ministry has stipulated that those companies which have been allotted more than 5,000 tonnes of rice have to import 50 per cent rice within 15 days of opening the LC and the remaining 50 per cent within 30 days.
