Gas, power crisis liable for sugar price hike
06 November 2022
Amid the ongoing sugar crisis, the price of sugar produced by state-owned factories has been hiked by Tk 14. The maximum retail price of local sugar has been increased from Tk 85 to Tk 99 per kg in accordance with the international and domestic market. With the price soaring of essential kitchen items as the government is reluctant to stop market monopoly and manipulation, people are in dire situations and the famine is knocking at the doors.
The price of each tonne of sugar produced by the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation was previously Tk 74,000 at the mill level, and has now been increased to Tk 85,000. That is, the price of sugar per kg at the mill level will be Tk 85. At the dealer level, the price of a tonne of sugar has been fixed at Tk 87,000. So the dealers will be able to buy sugar at Tk 87 per kg. Also, the price of 1 kg sugar packet at the mill gate has been increased from Tk 75 to Tk 90.
Bangladesh imports most of its refined sugar to meet the local demand of around 1.8 million to 2 million tonnes per annum. The Commerce Ministry increased sugar prices by Tk 6 per kg on October 6 as demanded by the traders amid the increasing import cost caused by the dollar price hike. The price of refined but loose sugar was fixed at Tk 90 a kg in the retail markets while the price of packaged sugar stood at Tk 95 per kg. Due to a supply shortage, packaged sugar was being sold at Tk 120 per kg for a few weeks. In some neighbourhoods, people complained that sugar was not available in the shops.
Production has been reduced to half of many companies due to a gas crisis. The gas and power shortage has jeopardised the industries and its impact is visible on the commodity prices.
