Govt to cut duty on rice imports

Bangladesh will slash the duty on rice imports to cool high local prices of the staple grain, the country’s food minister said on Wednesday, the second cut in less than two months.

The import duty on rice will be lowered to 2 percent from 10 percent, Food Minister Kamrul Islam told reporters, that is down from 28 percent in June.

Bangladesh, the world’s fourth-biggest rice producer, has emerged as a major importer of rice this year due to depleted stocks and record high local prices following flash floods.

Source: Reuters