BSFIC to import 50,000 tonnes of sugar to keep Ramadan market stable

---

Monira Munni
The state-owned BSFIC will import 50,000 tonnes of sugar by July to keep the local market stable by ensuring sufficient supply of the commodity before Ramadan, officials said Tuesday.
The Ministry of Industries gave its nod to this effect on February 28 as part of an earlier decision to import 0.1 million tonnes of sugar through Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC), officials said.
"If all the procedures including tendering and funding go ahead as planned, we are hopeful that we can import the sugar within the first week of July," Ranjit Kumar Biswas, chairman of BSFIC, told the FE.
The government has taken the measure in the wake of price hike of sugar, now selling at Tk 58-Tk 60 per kg in the retail market.
According to market sources, the sugar price has increased by more than 60 per cent in a few years. The essential commodity sold between Tk 32 and Tk 34 a kg just two years ago.
Giving the reason, importers said sugar price in the international market has gone up unusually, $661 per tonne as of Monday, up from $420 per tonne of two years ago.
The current import price of the commodity is as high as $ 669, as of Tuesday, excluding carrying cost, insurance bills and other costs. The high price of dollar is another reason of the increase in sugar price, according to the sources.
The country's annual demand for sugar is around 1.3 million tonnes, of which the state-owned sugar mills can supply around 0.12 million tonnes. A substantial portion of the local demand is met through imports.
The country's 15 sugar mills produced 62,203 tonnes of sugar during July- February of the current fiscal year. The BSFIC currently has a stock of 50,490 tonnes.