Govt considers UAE sugar offer to meet Ramadan demand

The government is now scrutinising a proposal to import 75,000 tonnes of sugar offered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), sources say.
If procured from the UAE, the sugar will be sold through the TCB drive, according to a trade official.
The state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) is trying to build buffer stocks of sugar through local and international sources to supply the commodity to its 10 million cardholder low-income families under its monthly sales programme, according to a source.
The Ministry of Commerce has already tasked the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) with reviewing the proposal in light of the global sweetener market.
Recently, a UAE state agency -- the Emiri Court Director of the government of Fujairah -- has offered to supply sugar to Bangladesh under a government-to-government (G2G) arrangement.
The company has offered sugar at $810 per tonne CNF Chittagong, following a reassessment of the tax.
Contacted, a senior official said, "We sent the proposal to the Trade and Tariff Commission to review international prices, and they have been asked to submit a report as soon as possible."
State-run TCB could not sell sugar to its customers in the past few months due to a lack of availability.
However, the commerce ministry wing is currently selling sugar at Tk 100 per kg to its customers during its ongoing subsidised food drive for Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr.
The TCB has increased the price of sugar by Tk 30 per kg under its sales initiative. Previously, the price of sugar was Tk 70 per kg.
In addition, TCB is also selling edible oil, pulses, rice and dates at discounted prices to beneficiaries during this month of fasting for Muslims.
The TCB is selling two litres of edible oil at Tk 100 per litre, two kg of lentils at Tk 60 per kg, one kg of sugar at Tk 100, dates at Tk 150 per kg and five kg of rice at Tk 30 per kg.
According to TCB daily market review, sugar retailing at Tk 135-140 per kg -- way higher than the TCB's subsidised price.
The agency will procure 10,000 tonnes of sugar for its Ramadan essentials programme. The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase in a meeting recently approved two separate TCB proposals.
Official data shows that sugar demand rises to around 300,000 tonnes during Ramadan, compared to the monthly average of 150,000 tonnes.
The annual demand for refined sugar is more than 2.0-2.2 million tonnes, with most of it being imported.

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