March 12, 2007

Bangladesh to remove tariffs on rice, wheat imports
 

The interim government Bangladesh said it would scrap the existing 5 percent duty on rice and wheat imports on March 11 as part of its efforts to reduce food prices.

Open-market sale (OMS) of rice and wheat is also being established under a food-rationing plan to maintain long-term supply.

In another attempt to keep prices down, the government also announced it would reintroduce the food-for-work (FFW) programme.

The decisions were taken by the Advisors Committee on Public Purchase (ACPP) in its meeting presided over by Finance Advisor Mirza Md Azizul Ialam.

As per decision, the OMS will start from March 18 with rice being sold at Bangladesh taka 15.25 per kilogramme (US$0.22) while FFW commences on March 15 at district level.

The government also decided that the Food Directorate would import 100,000 tonnes of wheat through international tender.