Quarantine rules may be effective by Feb next

Yasir Wardad | Published: December 19, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

After nearly four years of enactment of the Plant Quarantine Act 2011, the government has taken move to make the Plant Quarantine Rules and Regulations effective, officials said.
The rules might be effective within January-February period next year, they said.
Formulation of the rules will help proper implementation of the law passed in the Parliament in March 2011 to prevent unapproved export and import of plants.
The bill, tabled by agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, was passed on voice vote on March 11, 2011.
The law provided for founding a National Plant Quarantine Authority which will perform 21 tasks, including the control of import and export of plants, plant products, microbes and packaging products, an official at the ministry of agriculture (MoA) said.
Violation of the law may result in a maximum of two years of imprisonment or Tk 0.5 million fine or both, he said.
He said the law was introduced to prevent intrusion of alien insects and diseases in the wake of growing transportation of plants and plant products across borders.
He informed the FE that the law replaces 'the Destructive Insect and Pest Act 1914.'
When asked, additional secretary, MoA, Anwar Faruqe, said that it was a bit late for formulation of the rules as it took time to finalise the list of pests.
He said the agriculture minister has asked the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) recently to submit the rules within January.
"We are expecting that the new rules will be put into effect within February," he said.
He said the ministry has taken necessary measures to form the Plant Quarantine Authority very soon.
BARC executive chairman Dr Rafiqul Islam Mondal told the FE: "We are expecting that the Plant Quarantine Rules and Regulations under Plant Quarantine Act 2011 would be effective within February."
"The Quarantine Authority will also be formed within a few months which will be equipped with all testing facilities so that any type of bacteria/pest can be identified prior to exporting and importing," he said.
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