Bangladesh has waived import duty on raw sugar and cut the levy on refined sugar for the next two months to keep prices of the sweetener stable, a senior official said on Thursday. Commerce Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faizul Huq told Reuters there would be no tax on imports of raw sugar for the period while the import duty on refined sugar would be halved to 2,000 taka ($28.8) per tonne.
"The decision will be in force until the middle of September so that the price of sugar remains within the buying capacity of ordinary people during the month of Ramazan," Huq said. "We expect the lower duties will help keep prices stable this year."
Earlier the government imposed a fixed duty of 2,000 taka per tonne of raw sugar and 4,000 taka for refined sugar in the budget for the fiscal year from July 2010. Sugar prices routinely surge every Ramazan, when sugar use rises at the time of the breaking of the fast each evening and also for dinner and pre-dawn meals. Golam Mostafa, secretary general of the Bangladesh Sugar Refiners Association, warned the move might have little impact against the backdrop of a shortage of the sweetener.
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