A fresh shipment of 231,840 eggs from India cleared Benapole customs on Wednesday. These eggs are expected to reach local markets today(Thursday).
Imported by Indian firm Hydroland Solution, this marks the second egg consignment following the recent tariff reduction on essential imports.
Under the new tariff structure, the duty on imported eggs has been reduced from 25% to 13%, a lowered rate effective until December 15. Ekramul Hasan Sajib, a representative of Hydroland Solution, said, “The eggs were cleared under the newly fixed duty rate and will be available in the market on Thursday.”
In order to reduce egg prices, the government decided to increase supply through imports, as local production has declined.
Customs House data shows that a total of 1.159 million eggs were imported through Benapole since September 8 in five shipments. Additionally, Dhaka-based BDS Corporation imported 61,950 eggs on November 5 last year.
In an effort to stabilize the egg market, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) reduced import duties on eggs. Following this directive, a shipment of 231,840 eggs was taxed at a reduced rate of only Tk0.76 per egg on 21 October.
Benapole Customs House Deputy Commissioner Othello Chowdhury confirmed that 231,840 eggs were released at the reduced duty rate on 21 October.
He said, previously, each egg was subject to a duty of Tk1.96, which has now been reduced to Tk0.77 only.
“The imported eggs are expected to be sold in the local market at a price of Tk9 per piece,” said this official adding that “This shipment will help to further decrease the egg price.”
The official also mentioned that the current government has granted additional import licenses to several other companies in order to stabilize the market as these companies can introduce more eggs.
However, despite these efforts, egg prices remain high.
Eggs are being imported from India at Tk5.80 per piece, and after accounting for reduced duty and other expenses, the total cost per egg stands at Tk7.57. Yet, these eggs are still being sold locally at Tk13 to Tk14, well above the government-set retail price of Tk11.86.
There are allegations that a group of corrupt and dishonest traders may be manipulating egg prices at the wholesale or retail level.
bd-praditin/Rafid
