Make powdered milk affordable to mass people

A media report recently said that some 50 per cent children in Bangladesh did not get milk as a premium source of nutrition due to low production and supply-side shortage of the dairy product. In early nineties the government imposed high customs duty and high supplementary duty on import of powdered milk on the plea that it would encourage people to produce more milk and the country would become self-sufficient in milk
production.
The subsequent governments have been following the same policy during the last 24 years. Milk production has not increased significantly to make it available to common people. Rather milk has become rich men's food owing to short supply and high price.
Taking milk everyday was a culture of the people over centuries. Milk is an ideal food for all. Government needs to review its policy toward imposing high customs duty, VAT and supplementary duty on import of powdered milk.
In these circumstances, we would like to urge the government to withdraw supplementary duty on import of powdered milk and thus enable more people to take milk as the premium source of nutrition.

Mohd Ashraf Hossain
Central Bashabo, Dhaka