Bangladesh will import 175,000 tonnes of sugar to keep prices of the sweetener stable, a senior official of the state-owned Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation said on Wednesday. The government is in talks with Brazil to import 100,000 tonnes of sugar in a state-to-state deal, the official said.
"We are also in the process of buying 75,000 tonnes of sugar from the international market, and procure 20,000 tonnes locally as a precautionary measure in view of the market situation," he said. Bangladesh already battling high food inflation of 11 percent, has moved to speed up imports of rice, wheat and other essential commodities like other nations from Africa to Asia to combat surging food costs.
"Around 125,000 tonnes of sugar, produced by the state-owned crashing mills, will be supplied to the local markets to rein in prices and prevent any artificial crisis," the official said. Bangladesh largely depends on imported sugar to meet its annual demand of 1.4 million tonnes.