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| Wednesday, 17 November 2004 |
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Tax on rice imports again from Jan. 1 by Shirajiv Sirimane The Ministry of Trade and Commerce has decided to reintroduce the tax on the import of rice from January 1, 2005. According to an official of the Ministry a tax of Rs. 9 per kilo of rice was imposed on the import of rice. However, due to the increase in the price of rice in the domestic market this tax was removed from October 1. However, if there is an increase in the price of rice the tax would be removed again. "The local paddy harvesting season begins at the end of the year and if the Ministry keeps on importing rice it would have an adverse effect as the farmers would not get a high price for their yields," it said. The Ministry of Agriculture and farmers have welcomed this timely move and it is expected that the price of rice in the open market would come down to Rs. 30 when the harvesting season begins. The Ministry has also decided to import a further 12,000 metric tons of rice from Pakistan beginning this week to further reduce the price of rice in the open market. The Ministry had earlier planned to import over 100,000 metric tons of rice from India and Pakistan. However, only over 35, 000 tons have been imported so far due to logistical problems. The rice was imported directly by the CWE, Markfed and CoopFed. Meanwhile, the Ministry is yet to take a decision on the import of chicken from the United States. Poultry Farmers' Associations have said that they would not unfairly raise the price of chicken during the Christmas season and this proposal is on hold, the Ministry official said. A kilo of chicken is now being sold at around Rs. 175 and if chicken is imported from USA it could be introduced to the local market at around Rs. 110. The local poultry associations have said that they have no objection to the import of duck and turkey to the season. |
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