No duty increase on imports of food items

Mahfuz Emran: In the next budget, the duty on the import of staple food items including rice and wheat will not increase. The import duty on the main inputs of the agricultural sector such as fertilizers, seeds and pesticides will also remain unchanged. Apart from this, conditions for import of seeds are being relaxed under concessional facilities.
In the next fiscal year 2024-25, the allocation for import of food grains (rice and wheat) is increasing by about 34 percent. The government is increasing the budget allocation for importing food grains mainly in view of the decline in global food production and the increase in the value of the dollar against the rupee. This initiative is being taken as part of ensuring the necessary funds for food security. However, the allocation for food procurement from within the country is being reduced by 18 percent in the next budget. This information is known from the sources of the Ministry of Finance and Food.
In the new budget, an allocation of Tk 6,696 crore is being kept for the import of rice and wheat from abroad. In the current financial year, Tk 4,990 crores have been allocated to this sector. That is, next financial year, the allocation for this sector is increasing by Tk 1,623 crore or 34.18 percent. In the next financial year, the government has set a target of Tk 3,862 crore rice import from abroad. In the main budget of the current financial year, Tk 2,592 crores have been allocated to this sector. On the other hand, Tk 2,834 crore are being allocated for the import of wheat from abroad in the next financial year. Tk 2,398 crores have been allocated to this sector in the current financial year.
Meanwhile, an allocation of Tk 7,441 crore is being kept in the fiscal year 2024-25 for the purchase of rice from within the country. Where Tk 8,750 crores have been allocated in the main budget of the current financial year. And in the next fiscal year, only Tk 36 crore are being kept for wheat collection from within the country. Whereas in the budget of the current financial year, Tk 350 crores have been allocated for this sector. That is, the allocation for domestic procurement of rice and wheat is being reduced by Tk 623 crore.
Officials of the relevant branches of the Ministry of Finance and Food said that in the budget allocation for food procurement, the allocation is kept by referring to these two sectors, internal procurement and foreign procurement. But not always imported from abroad. For example, the government has not imported much rice from abroad in the current financial year 2023-24. But there is allocation in the budget. Collecting from internal sources with that allocation. We will have to import a lot of rice from abroad in the next financial year as well – this is not the case. However, this allocation is being kept for preparation. Because global food production has decreased by about 20 percent. There is also a risk of price increase. On the other hand, the dollar exchange rate has increased. This allocation is being kept so that there is an opportunity to spend if necessary. There will be no shortage of food supply in the country. Domestic production has been good. However, if required, the government will ensure supply.
How is the budget size?
The new budget is being finalized by arranging an expenditure of Tk 7 lakh 96 thousand 900 crore. This is 4.60 percent more than the current budget. In previous fiscal years, the budget has generally been budgeted at 12 to 15 percent growth over the previous year. The government has set a revenue target of Tk 541 thousand crore in the new financial year. Out of this, NBR has to collect Tk 4 lakh 80 thousand crore, which is Tk 50 thousand crore more than the current financial year. To meet the shortfall, there is a plan to borrow Tk 3.5 lakh crore from domestic and foreign sources.
A large part of it, that is, more than Tk 1.5 lakh crore will be taken from the bank. In addition, foreign loans of more than Tk 100 millionwill be taken. The rest will be financed by borrowing from other sources. But this time, the government is planning to sell savings bonds worth Tk 50 crore less than the amount that the government will repay as the old investment in savings bonds has matured. That is, the government’s target borrowing from savings bonds in the budget of the next financial year is estimated to be negative Tk 50 crore.