5.0pc CD proposed on onion import

The government has proposed five per cent customs duty (CD) on import of onion with the view to ensuring fair market price for such goods producers in the country, encouraging its cultivation and reducing dependency on imports.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveiled on Thursday the national budget for fiscal year 2020-21 (FY '21) with a record outlay of Tk 5.68 trillion. Last year's budget size was Tk 5.23 trillion.

In his budget speech, he stated that the rates of customs duty proposed on import of the cooking spice in the form of wrapped/canned onion up to 2.5 kg will be 5.0 per cent and 5.9 per cent for bulk.

Mr Kamal said: "At present, farmers are cultivating plenty of onions in our country. But with the zero duty rate on imported onions, domestic onion farmers are weary of being deprived of fair market prices compared to production costs."

The minister also mentioned, "This may discourage farmers from cultivating onions in future."

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