Price of kidney dialysis may drop

The price of products used in kidney dialysis is set to fall soon.

This year’s budget is prioritizing relief for the common people. As in previous years, several measures have been taken to promote the development of the health sector.

Existing subsidies for the import of raw materials needed for the production of medicines, medical supplies, and health protection materials will continue. This is expected to reduce the cost of dialysis products, particularly benefiting kidney patients.

According to these sources, it has been recommended to reduce the existing import duty on two dialysis products—dialysis filters and dialysis circuits—from 10% to 1%.

Additionally, due to the lack of a specific HS code for spinal needles, complications have arisen during customs clearance. To address this issue, it is proposed to create a new HS code for spinal needles and impose a 5% import duty on this product.

Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali is set to unveil a possible Tk797,000 crore (Tk7.97 trillion) national budget for the next fiscal year (FY25) at the National Parliament on Thursday.

He will announce the budget amid the growing challenges of containing inflation, maintaining a sound foreign currency reserve, a stable exchange rate and generating more revenues.

This will be the country's 53rd budget and the 25th of the Awami League government in six terms. This budget will also be the 21st under the rule of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in different terms.