Rice traders in Bangladesh are hesitant to import rice despite a tariff reduction from 62.5% to 25%, citing high international prices that limit profit margins. The retail price of rice has been rising due to severe flooding affecting the Aman season crop.
Although the National Board of Revenue aimed to encourage imports to stabilize prices, millers find importing financially unviable since prices in India are similarly high, and transportation costs would make imported rice more expensive than local varieties. With local fine rice priced around Tk 65 per kg, imported rice would cost about Tk 80 per kg. Traders expect prices to drop after the upcoming harvests, and despite India’s easing of export restrictions, local importers remain doubtful about the viability of imports, with no official applications filed yet.