POBNEWS24, Dhaka Dec 15, 2024 : 35,043 tons of rice have been imported from India to Bangladesh in 969 trucks in the last 29 days through the Bhomra land port in Satkhira district of Bangladesh under duty-free facility. The first consignment of rice arrived at this port on November 13 after a two-year closure. Importers claim that if rice imports continue like this, the price in the domestic market will come down. However, traders say that the impact of rice imports has not yet reached the country’s rice markets.
The revenue branch of Bhomra customs station imported 35,043 tons of various types of rice through this port from November 13 to December 11 in the current fiscal year. The import value of which is about Tk 32 crore. The imported rice includes Chikon Basmati, Miniket and Mota Swarna and Jamai Babu.
Bhomra Land Customs Station Revenue Officer Md. Shafiul Basar confirmed the matter and said that since the government has made rice duty-free, no revenue has been collected here.
Kamal Hossain, owner of North Bengal rice importer M/s Sonali Enterprise, said that his company has been importing rice through Bhomra port along with other ports since the Indian government started exporting rice after a long closure. However, imports have only started for the past few weeks. It has not yet started to have much impact on the country’s rice markets.
Rice traders in Sultanpur Boro Bazar, a large market in Satkhira city, said that fine basmati rice is being sold at Tk 78 per kg, fine atash rice at Tk 58 to 59 per kg, and coarse rice at Tk 48 to 50. In addition, imported coarse Swarna and Jamaibabu varieties are being sold at Tk 50 per kg. However, he said that the import of Indian rice has not yet had any positive impact on the domestic rice market.
Satkhira district’s agricultural marketing officer, Saleh Mohammad Abdullah, said that the current rice market in Satkhira is stable. However, he expressed optimism that the rice market will soon decline due to the start of rice imports from India.
