Prices of spices, dry foods soar as assessment value hiked in 5 products in Bangladesh

The country's spice and dry foods market has skyrocketed to an extreme high as the customs authority has abruptly increased the assessment value of five products. The assessment value (purchase price of imported goods determined by customs) of these five items – pistachio, caraway seeds, cumin, almond, and alu bukhara – was increased last Sunday. This jump has caused a ripple effect in the market, causing prices of almost all kinds of spices and dry foods in the market to skyrocket in the last five days. Traders are baffled by the sudden change, saying it has pushed prices to jump suddenly even when there is enough supply and no price change in the international market. Md Lutfor Rahman, a former member of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) told The Business Standard, "It is not logical to assess import value according to the local market. It should be done on the basis of transaction value." Meanwhile, the customs authority says the change was brought after checking the local ...