Bangladesh's Deshbandu Sugar Mills Limited, a private refiner, will import 20,000 tonnes of raw sugar from either Thailand or Brazil early next month, a mill official said on Monday. "We hope the cargo will be shipped by May 15 to reach the Chatting port by early June," said Deshbandu Chairman Golam Mostafa, without giving a price for the raw sugar.
Bangladeshi refiners are facing tough competition from importers of white sugar after India lifted a ban on sugar exports late last year. "We have urged the government to ban sugar imports from India by road," Mostafa said. The refiners alleged that poor quality sugar was often smuggled from India using land routes, heightening price competition domestically.
"We have requested that the government take steps from the beginning of the next budget year (July-June) to allow Indian sugar imports only through the country's Chittagong or Mogul sea ports" Mostafa said. Bangladesh's raw sugar importers pay half the 5,000 take ($72.46) per tonne duty paid by importers of white sugar.
Bangladesh largely depend on state and private sector imports of sugar to meet an annual demand of 1.2 million tonnes. Bangladesh expect to produce some 170,000 tonnes of sugar locally this year.