PM consents to reducing duty on import of essentials: Ahsanul

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given consent for reducing the duty of essentials at import stage, State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu said today (4 February).

"We've challenges centering the ensuing month of Ramadan and we've taken notable steps to address those. We've to import 90% of the total domestic demand for edible oil and sugar. The prime minister has given consent for lowering import duty following our proposals. Hopefully the NBR will lower the import duty to a rational rate soon and the consumers will get benefits during the month of Ramadan," he said.

The state minister said this while addressing the 'BCCCI-ERF Journalism Award' held at a city hotel today. The award was given to the journalists for their best reports in five different categories.

Presided over by ERF president Refayet Ullah Mirdha, its general secretary Abul Kashem moderated the function.

FBCCI president Mahbubul Alam, Minister Counselor and Deputy Chief of Mission of Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh Yan Hualong, Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCCI) president Gazi Golam Mortuza and general secretary Al Mamun Mirdha spoke on the occasion.

The state minister said the current stockpile of rice in the country is around 18 lakh metric tonnes and this is sufficient for the country compared to its demand.

Noting that the supply of essential items during the Month of Ramadan would remain uninterrupted, Ahsanul said it is now high time to work on the fine tuning of the supply chain starting from producers, manufactures to importers, wholesalers and retailers. 

"The consumers will get essentials at fair prices if the initiative becomes successful," he added.

Mentioning that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already made coordination among the Ministries of Commerce, Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, he said that the Ministry of Commerce does not work on production, import, and export, rather work on policy issues.

 "All related to supply chain should have to be brought into a single platform to establish the rights of the consumers through a nice policy,"

Regarding the issue of importing sugar and onion from India, Ahsanul said his Indian counterpart has assured of simplifying the process for importing such essential items.

The state minister said the state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) provides essential items to some one crore families round the year every month including in the Month of Ramadan. In continuation of this, he said onion and sugar would be imported from India which would have a positive impact.

Apart from the TCB, Ahsanul said the government also wants to ensure a smooth supply chain through ensuring additional supply.

FBCCI president Mahbubul Alam said that the country's economy is moving ahead and will continue to move.

"If all concerned work in a concentrated way, then it will be possible to build a nice country," he added.

The chief of the country's apex trade body also assured that the FBCCI would extend all sorts of cooperation to the Chinese investors in case of their investments in Bangladesh.