Cut regulatory duty on sugar
Reducing the regulatory duty on sugar imports from 30 per cent to 10 per cent could stabilise sugar prices in the domestic market, according to a report by the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC).
The BTTC recently submitted the report to the commerce ministry, highlighting the country's demand for sugar, local production, import, current stock and pipeline situation.
Various sugar refineries in the country have stocks of 1.54 lakh tonnes of unrefined sugar while another 2.21 lakh tonnes are in the pipeline awaiting import, with which it is possible to meet local demand for two-and-a-half months, it said.
Sugar prices recently increased in Dhaka, Chattogram and some other parts of the country amid a supply crunch. And although private mill owners say imports are normal, they see no way out of the price spiral as there is a lack of sufficient gas to refine sugar.
Amid the squeezing supply, the Bangladesh Sugar Refiners Association on October 20 urged the government to remove all types of import duties on unrefined sugar and allow commercial banks to open letters of credit for such imports without restriction.
At Khatunganj, a wholesale market in Chattogram, prices of sugar shot up by Tk 100-150 per maund (37.32 kilogrammes) to Tk 3,780-3,800 per maund in the last two days due to falling supply, said Anamul Haque, owner of Shah Amanat Trading.
Consumers in Dhaka and Chattogram yesterday had to pay up to Tk 110 at retail for a kilogramme (kg) of the sweetener, which cost less than Tk 100 per kg a week ago. Besides, packaged sugar, which is preferred by households, has become hard to find in neighbourhood stores.
In this circumstance, at the request of the Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection, Deshbandhu Group, City Group and Meghna Group of Industries took the initiative to sell sugar in various important areas of Dhaka, including Motijheel, Zero Point, Secretariat, New Market, Azimpur, and Karwan Bazar from yesterday.
Mill owners said the country's annual demand for sugar is 25 lakh tonnes but domestic production can cater to just 1 lakh tonnes while the rest comes from abroad.
The government collected revenue of Tk 3750.40 crore in fiscal 2020-21 and Tk 4983.22 crore in fiscal 2021-22 from the import of refined and unrefined sugar, the BTTC report said.
According to data of the National Board of Revenue, 90-95 percent of imported sugar is unrefined.
Mill owners import unrefined sugar from Brazil, India, Australia, the UK and Malaysia before refining it and supplying it to local markets.
According to the refiners' association, about 18 lakh tonnes of unrefined sugar have been imported so far this year.
The BTTC report also said there is no problem in the supply of edible oil considering the current reserves and pipeline situation.
Crude soybean oil and palm oil reserves currently stand at about 4.96 lakh while a further 2.3 million is awaiting import in the pipeline.
The country has 2.36 lakh tonnes of soybean seeds in stock and considering the local reserves and pipeline, it is possible to meet the country's demand of more than 4 months with this oil, it added.
In the last six months, rice and wheat imports declined by 10.52 lakh tonnes and 14.11 lakh tonnes respectively compared to the same period in 2021.
This shortage in supply is expected to have a negative impact on the wheat flour and rice market.
Onion imports were partially lower at the same time but there will not be a crisis in the market as local production is high.
In addition, the import of lentils is satisfactory, the BTTC report said.
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