95 private companies to import 409,000 tonnes of rice

The government has greenlighted 95 private companies to import 409,000 tonnes of rice after slashing duty to rein in the spiralling prices.

Traders can now bring 30,000 tonnes of parboiled rice and 379,000 tonnes of boiled rice from abroad, reports bdnews24.com.

Rice prices have seen an upward trend in the country since the start of the Boro harvest season.

In June, the Ministry of Food called for import proposals from traders and published the names of companies that received permission. These companies must issue a letter of credit by Jul 21 and market the imported rice by Aug 11. Failure to issue an LC in time will result in the cancellation of a company’s allotment.

The price of fine rice increased by Tk 10-15 to Tk 80-85 a kg from two months ago. The price of coarse rice rose by Tk 5 to Tk 55, while medium-coarse rice is being sold at Tk 58, up from Tk 55.

On Jun 25, authorities cut the import duty on rice to 25 per cent from 62.5 per cent.