Sugar refiners seek policy support

Leaders of Bangladesh Sugar Refiners' Association yesterday demanded that the government give them necessary policy support to help the industry survive.
They also called for increasing the import duty gap between raw sugar and white sugar to Tk 5,000 per tonne from Tk 3,000, and forming a supply chain structure.
The association urged the government to lift the ban on sugar export and also stop delivery order system.
The leaders placed the demands when they called on Finance Minister AMA Muhith at his ministry.
President of the association Fazlur Rahman and General Secretary Golam Mostafa were present.
The minister assured the sugar refiners of considering their demands.
ASM Mohiuddin Monem of Abdul Monem Limited told the minister that they are now incurring loss of Tk 20 per kilogram as the production cost of each kg of sugar now stands at Tk 58-Tk 60.
“We have to sell sugar at around Tk 38 per kg and so we are failing to repay our loans,” he said.
Mohiuddin said the refiners had to procure raw sugar at around $ 745 per tonne in January when the international market was high. “But now we are incurring loss.”
He said the refiners have a huge export potential as they have the capacity of refining 24 lakh tonnes of sugar per year against the countrywide demand for 14 lakh tonnes and said the government could now lift the ban on sugar export.
Mohiuddin said there is good prospect of sugar export to India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bulgaria, Germany and France.
He also proposed that the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh should procure around 60,000 tonnes of sugar from the local refiners ahead of Ramadan to save foreign currency.