Bangladesh: Drop in duty, international rate fails to sweeten sugar prices

The government's attempt to curb sugar prices by slashing import tariffs by half appears to have had no impact in the country's kitchen markets as the commodity's price shows no signs of abating even amid lower booking rate. On top of that, a $100 dip in the international booking rate has failed to dent sugar prices in the Bangladesh market. On the contrary, the wholesale price has increased by Tk400 per maund (37.32 kilograms) and retail price by Tk10-15 per kg in a month. On 1 November, the revenue board halved the duty on sugar import – from Tk3,000 to Tk1,500 per tonne for raw sugar, and from Tk6,000 to Tk3,000 per tonne for refined sugar. The move was intended to stabilize the price of sugar ahead of the upcoming national elections. According to traders, the country's sugar market is held hostage by a few groups of companies. Therefore, the price of the product is not decreasing even after a reduction of duty or the international market booking rate. Alamgir Parvez, owner of ...