Home ›› 11 May 2023 ›› Front
The government has increased the price of loose sugar by Tk 16 to Tk 120 and packaged sugar at Tk 125 in the face of demands from traders following a rise in the price of the essential commodity in the international market.
Previously, the government fixed rate of loose sugar was Tk 104 and packaged sugar Tk 109. However, according to retailers, loose sugar has been selling at a much higher rate of Tk 140 per kg for days now. At the same time, there is a severe shortage in packaged sugar supply.
The latest adjustment in sugar price comes after the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) sent a proposal to the commerce ministry to increase sugar price following a request from the Bangladesh Sugar Refiners Association (BSRA).
Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh announced the hike on Wednesday. He made the announcement while answering questions from journalists after attending a workshop on apprising stakeholders about the Import Policy Order 2021-2024 to ensure the due standard of the imported food held at the Ministry of Commerce conference room.
The senior secretary also said a letter would be sent to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to extend the timeframe for duty exemption on import of sugar in the wake of price hike in the international market as well as appreciation of dollar price.
He said, “The existing duty structure for sugar still exists and it will remain intact until May 31.
“Since the price of sugar has increased, we will also make further recommendations for reducing the duty structure.”
He also said a letter has been sent to the BSRA asking it to sell sugar at the newly fixed rate. However, the organisation is yet to respond.
The senior commerce secretary continued that whenever the price of any essential item does not remain at a tolerable level, then the government suggests NBR to lower the import duty.
“It is the jurisdiction of the revenue board to fix the duty. They take decisions about tariffs after evaluating the overall situation.”
According to the BTTC proposal sent to the commerce ministry, the organisation proposed the millgate price of per kg of refined loose sugar at Tk 115 and the distributor price at Tk 117. The millgate price of refined packaged sugar has been fixed at Tk 119 per kg and Tk 121 per kg at the distributor level. The Commission proposed this price by calculating the dollar exchange rate at Tk 111.
The BTTC also said the price of raw sugar was $580 per tonne earlier this month, which is $160 dollar higher than last year.
Meanwhile, Senior Secretary Tapan said commerce ministry would take steps to reduce the import duty on edible oil, which saw a hike in price recently, in the next year too.
