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SPIRALLING RICE PRICES

Taskforce for duty cut

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
In a bid to keep rice prices stable, a national taskforce on essential prices at a meeting yesterday recommended a temporary withdrawal of import duties on rice.
Besides, steps should be taken to revive the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) so that the staterun body can import essential items in case of emergency and tackle any manipulation by the importers and hoarders, it suggested.
The recommendations will be sent to the prime minister for her approval, the taskforce decided at a meeting with Commerce Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury yesterday.
Adviser to the commerce ministry Barkatullah Bulu, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Abdul Awal Mintoo and senior officials of
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different ministries were present at the meeting.
The taskforce meeting was convened to find ways of keeping essential prices, particularly rice, at a reasonable level and within the purchasing capacity of the common people.
The meeting observed that last year's Aman production, at 11 million metric tons, was short of target by more than 1.7 million tons, pushing rice prices up.
A number of steps, including providing irrigation and fertiliser subsidies, have been taken to increase production in the next boro season, the meeting was told.
"The government has cut duties on different essential items and the highest 30 percent duty has been reduced," Altaf told reporters after the meeting.
Duties on potato, dry chilli, turmeric, ginger, sugar, salt and powdered milk have been cut in fiscal 2004-05.
But prices of some essential items have gone up in the global market, making their imports costlier, he added.
The price of sugar has increased in the last one year by 28 percent, palm oil 11 percent, coarse rice 15 percent, lentil 3 percent, ginger 125 percent, turmeric 16 percent, according to the working paper of the meeting.
The report said crops were heavily damaged due to last year's deluge and essential prices in the global market increased substantially. Besides, the fuel price hike has significantly pushed transportation costs up, it said.