BD mission for sugar import from Yangon

The Bangladesh mission in Yangon has suggested importing sugar from Myanmar to help mitigate the growing local demand.
Sources said the Bangladesh high commission recently requested the commerce ministry to take necessary steps to this effect.
It believes that the neighbouring country of Myanmar becomes an alternative import source of the sweetener for Bangladesh.
Myanmar currently produces a small volume of sugar annually. It has 0.2 million tonnes of the item in surplus even after meeting the local demand, according to a source.
On August 08, a meeting was held between the Bangladesh mission and the Myanmar Sugar and Cane Related Products Association (MSCA).
The meeting discussed possible import agreements, including government-to-government (G2G), government-to-business (G2B) and business-to-business (B2B) deals.
The MSCA is interested in exporting sugar to Bangladesh as Myanmar has a stock to the exportable.
But it seeks to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
The association believes it would be better to export sugar to Bangladesh if the MoU is signed.
After meeting the local demand with 0.2 million tonnes, Myanmar exports the surplus sweet substance to Vietnam and the Philippines.
Private sugar refiners under the MSCA and some small and medium enterprises produce refined sugar in Myanmar.
However, Myanmar does not produce more raw sugar for export.
In most cases, Bangladesh imports a major chunk of sugar from the neighbouring nation of India and the European nation of France.
Currently, sugar prices are much higher at the retail market, which digs deep into the pockets of the common people.
Consumers are buying sugar at higher than the government-fixed prices.
Sugar still retails at Tk 128-135 per kilogram, according to the daily market review of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
The annual local demand for refined sugar is more than 2.0-2.2 million tonnes, the bulk of which comes through import.
Bangladesh imports 2.0-2.2 million tonnes of raw sugar annually. On average, 0.15 million tonnes of sugar are required per month.
The demand for the item is 0.3 million tonnes during every holy month of Ramadan, according to official data.

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