Exporter clinches deal for local supply of edible oil

An export-oriented company clinches deal to supply edible oil to feed local demand amid a persisting crisis and its sharp price rises, officials said.
The National Board of Revenue, on government suggestion, also took into consideration the export company's oil-export market squeeze in India, of late, in permitting its local marketing, they said.
The edible oil would be supplied at subsidized rate to marginal-income group of people under the government-run marketing operations to cushion the crunch for the down-and-outs in the wake price rises.
SG Oil Refineries can sell 6,000 tonnes of edible oils per month on the local market through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
The revenue board offered the facility on a temporary basis following repeated requests from the Ministry of Commerce (MoC).
As per law, any 100-percent export-oriented company is barred from selling major share of its production on the local market as it might create uneven market competition with the other edible-oil manufacturers.
The NBR, earlier, had ruled out proposal of the company on this ground as it enjoys duty-free benefit on import of the crude edible oils.
According to the Customs Act, the company is allowed to sell only 20 per cent of its last year's output on the local market.
Officials said the MoC requested the NBR to consider the proposal of the company in a bid to ensure food security of 50 million marginal-income people.
However, the NBR tagged five conditions binding the benefit, including releasing each of the products through ex-bond bill of entry, payment of all duty taxes before releasing it from warehouse, furnishing details of products and raw materials in a prescribed form, keeping documents as per bonded-warehouse rules.
The company will have to furnish details of supplied products to the TCB within 10th of every month in the Customs House Mongla. The TCB will also have to furnish details of its receipts.
Customs export and bond wing of the NBR issued a letter to this effect to the Mongla Customs House.
SG Oil Refineries Limited is located in Mongla Export-Processing Zone (EPZ) that exports edible oils to India under the regional trade pact SAFTA.
Earlier, Chairman of the company Sarwar Jahan Talukder, in a letter to the NBR chairman, had said the company cannot export edible oils as per its production capacity as India imposed a ban on import of edible oils.
The company has sought the permission of contract manufacturing to refine its imported crude degummed soybean oil in a bid to keep the factory open and save employment of 200 people.

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