The price of sugar increased by Tk10-15 a kilogram in the past 10 days on the markets in Bangladesh capital Dhaka, selling for Tk145-150 per kg on Sunday.
The government on November 1 halved the customs duty on the import of sugar to improve the supply of sugar and contain the soaring prices of the essential commodity.
Retailers alleged that the supply of packaged sugar was closed for a couple of days while the price of unpacked sugar was increasing for the past 10 days.
Refiners said that there was a gap between production and demand as refiners were facing difficulties in importing raw sugar.
The National Board of Revenue on November 1 reduced the customs duty on import of raw sugar to Tk1,500 -Tk3,000 from Tk3,000- Tk6,000 for a tonne till March 31, 2024.
The country’s sugar market has been volatile since January.
The prices of both packaged and unpackaged sugar have increased by 27.58% and 23.33% to Tk145 and Tk150 per kg respectively from Tk115 and Tk105 over the year.
According to the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, the annual consumption demand for sugar in Bangladesh is 2 to 2.2 million tonnes.
Only 1.5% of the country’s demand is met with locally produced sugar.
