Bangladesh sugar, palm oil and date prices increase in spite of duty cut

In order to boost supplies and contain prices of essential goods during the month of Ramadan, the government took measures to alleviate the burden on consumers by reducing value added tax and import duties on four commodities — edible oil, sugar, dates and rice on February 8. However, the impact of these measures did not come about in the market as of February 14. In Khatunganj, a major wholesale hub for essential commodities in the port city of Chattogram, the price of sugar has gone up by Tk 50 per maund (37.65 kilogrammes) and is currently being sold at Tk 4,950 to Tk 5,000, according to the traders. Similarly, the price of palm oil has increased by Tk 100 within a span of one week and is now being sold at Tk 4,950, they said. But the price of edible oil and date have remained unchanged, they said. However, a visit to the capital’s Karwan Bazar, one of the biggest kitchen markets in Dhaka, yesterday revealed that the prices of date and palm oil have increased over the past ...