Govt withdraws onion import duty to stabilise soaring prices of essentials

The government has withdrawn import duty on onion and reduced that on sugar by 10 per cent in an attempt to stabilise the prices of the two essential items.

The Internal Resources Division (IRD) under the Ministry of Finance issued two separate gazettes in this regard on Thursday evening.

While the customs duty on onion import was withdrawn, regulatory duty on sugar import was cut to 20 per cent from 30 per cent.

The decision came as the prices of the daily essentials kept soaring at the local markets, according to UNB.

As per the latest information, the price of onion is Tk 70-80 per kg, up from Tk 40 a month ago.

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Commerce urged the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to withdraw customs duty on onion import, aiming to keep its price stable in the market.

The ministry also urged the NBR to slash import duties on crude soybean oil, palm oil and sugar to cool the overheated domestic market.