The commerce ministry has asked the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to withdraw the duty on onions and to reduce duties on crude soybean oil, palm oil and sugar.

The request was made at a meeting on Monday afternoon (11 October).

Additional Secretary (IIT) of the ministry AHM Shafiquzzaman said at the meeting that prices of some essential goods, including edible oil, sugar, onions and lentils, had risen in the local market because of international prices, and that the commerce ministry had taken various steps to keep stocks, supply, imports and prices of these daily necessities normal and stable.

AHM Shafiquzzaman said the NBR had been asked, in the public interest, to withdraw the duty on onions and to cut duties on crude soybean oil, crude palm oil and raw sugar. The agriculture ministry has been asked to complete quarantine tests on imported onions quickly and issue import permits (IPs).

The commerce ministry said the chairman of the land port authority had been asked to ensure that trucks carrying onions do not get stuck in congestion in border areas. Two teams led by commerce ministry officials will monitor important markets in the city corporation areas of Dhaka every day.

Source: Dhaka Tribune. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.