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28 March 2024


Business Insider Bangladesh

Import duties on onion, sugar cut to tame prices

BI Report || BusinessInsider

Published: 01:11, 15 October 2021   Update: 01:58, 15 October 2021
Import duties on onion, sugar cut to tame prices

Photo: Representational

The government has cut import duties on onion and sugar by 5 percent and 10 percent respectively in order to keep prices of the essentials stable in the local market.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Thursday issued a separate statutory regulatory order (SRO) to reduce import taxes which will remain effective until December 31, officials of NBR said.

At present, import of onion requires paying 10 percent duty while import of sugar needs 30 percent regulatory duty (RD) along with specific tax.

The officials said the NBR made the decision to cut the duties on those two key essential commodities following a request from the Ministry of Commerce.

The NBR’s move came against the backdrop of the recent surge in the prices of onion and sugar on the local market.

According to the kitchen market price review, both the prices of onion and sugar witnessed an upward trend on Thursday.

A kilogramme (kg) of local variety of onion was sold at Tk 70 against Tk 40 to 45 a couple of weeks ago. But onion imported from India was sold at Tk 55 per kg.

Retailers said that they purchased onion at Tk 60 a kg from wholesalers on the day.

So that they are bound to sell onion at Tk 70 per kg, making only a minimal profit, they said.

To them, the shortage of supply and fall in imports from neighbouring India are responsible for increasing the price of onion on the local market, according to traders.

Two days ago Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said the price of onion might be unstable for a month as its price was higher on the Indian market.

Besides, Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) raised the sugar price at mill gate by Tk 6 per kg.

The mill gate rate of the sugar has been fixed at Tk 74 a kg which was Tk 68 earlier.

Meanwhile, sugar was sold at Tk 80 a kg in the retail market on the day which was traded between Tk 65 and Tk 70 a kg a couple of weeks back.

According to statistics available with the commerce ministry, Bangladesh produces 17 lakh to 19 lakh tonnes of onion a year but that does not meet the demand for the country.

The country has to import 7 lakh to 11 lakh tonnes of onion, of which about 75% comes from India as the transport cost is low due to the close proximity.

On the other hand, the country imports of 22 lakh tonnes of sugar annually. The private refiners imported nearly 10.79 lakh of raw sugar. The capacity of the private refiners is 28.5 lakh tonnes annually.

Nagad
Monetary Policy Stance
Budget 2020-21
Walton