Bangladesh slashes egg import duties as prices climb

DHAKA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) — Bangladesh’s National Board of Revenue (NBR) Thursday drastically cut import duty on eggs from 25 percent to 5 percent to help rein in prices.
The egg import duty cut would reduce import costs of eggs by 13.8 taka per dozen, making the country’s cheapest source of protein affordable for the commoners, the NBR said in a statement after issuing an order in this regard.
The reduced import tax for eggs will be valid until Dec. 31 this year.
Recently, Bangladeshi people reportedly cut short consumption of eggs as prices soared to 200 taka a dozen over the last week in the capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country.
Bangladesh has a daily demand for 40 million eggs, the country’s Ministry of Commerce estimates. (1 U.S. dollar equals about 120 taka) ■