The Ministry of Food on Thursday gave permission to 30 companies from the private sector to import 83,000 tonnes of rice.
The ministry on Thursday issued a notification saying that imported rice must be sold in sacks, and cannot be repackaged with the name of the owner.
According to the total import, 49,000 tonnes will be boiled rice and 34,000 tonnes will be atap (parboiled) rice, reads the notification.
The notification stated the importers, who have given permission to import all the rice in the markets of Bangladesh within 25 April. No importer can issue an IP (Import Permit) in excess of the allocation.
The Ministry of Food says imported rice must be sold in sacks, and cannot be repackaged with the name of the owner.
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The government on February 8, reduced import duties on rice to allow the private sector to import.
At that time the National Board of Revenue (NBR) completely withdrew the 25 percent import duty on rice. It also reduced the regulatory duty on imports from 25 percent to 5 percent.