Govt announces 15pc incentives on rice export

The government has decided to give 15 percent incentives on rice export.

The incentives will be available until June 30, the Bangladesh Bank said in a circular to chief executives of all banks on Thursday.

“We have been thinking about it for quite sometime. The decision basically aims to help the farmers,” Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque told bdnews24.com.

He brushed aside concerns over a possible price spike in case of a supply squeeze in the domestic market due to the efforts to boost export.

“No, there is no reason for a price hike. We have sufficient stock of rice,” he said.

The minister claimed that “a lack of customers” for the rice being sold by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh indicates there is “no hike in prices”, especially of the coarse varieties.

Agro-economist M Asaduzzaman said the government “must also ensure that the farmers, not middlemen, benefit from the incentives”.

“Negligence in monitoring will lead the incentives to the pockets of a few mill owners and exporters,” he warned.

The researcher at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies was sceptical about the demand for the parboiled rice from Bangladesh in the international market.

Those exporting rice collected from farmers of the country and processed in mills outside the Economic Processing Zones or Economic Zones will be able to apply for the incentives.