Sugar price soars in majority of the local markets in the capital as a section of unscrupulous traders are creating an artificial crisis under the pretext of price hike on the international market.
During a visit to kitchen markets at Karwan Bazar, Moulavibazar of Old Dhaka and Ibrahimpur Bazar yesterday, a scarcity of sugar was noticed. Traders said there was a shortage of supply from the refiners.
Market sources said the price of sugar increased twice or thrice yesterday, each time by Tk 1-2 a kilogram, in the city with some retailers selling it at Tk 52-54 a kg while the price was Tk 48-50 a kg on Saturday.
Wholesalers at Karwan Bazar were selling sugar at Tk 2,450 per 50kg sack yesterday; on Saturday the rate was Tk 2,300.
“Though many wholesalers stockpiled sugar to make a windfall profit during Ramadan, they are not selling it to retailers,” said Tofail Ahmed, a retail trader at Karwan Bazar.
He complained that some wholesalers agreed to sell sugar to him at a cost of Tk 2,500 per 50kg sack.
Wholesalers, meanwhile, complained that refiners and importers are not supplying sugar to create an artificial crisis during Ramadan when total consumption of sugar increases by additional 50,000 tonnes.
Normally, the annual consumption of sugar in Bangladesh is 1.2-1.3 million tonnes.
However, Mostafa Kamal, chairman and managing director of Meghna Group of Industries, one of major sugar refiners, defied the allegation and said there is no disruption in the supply chain. Refiners are supplying 4,000 tonnes of sugar to the wholesalers every day, he said.
He also said the refiners have been delivering sugar to the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh at a cost of Tk 39 per kg to sell it at Tk 42 per kg in retail market.
Talking to The Daily Star, Abul Hashem, vice-president of Bangladesh Wholesale Sugar Merchant Association, said the D/O (demand order) traders, who buy sugar directly from mills, are responsible for its recent price hike.
Moreover, the price of sugar rose on the international market over the one and half months to $540-542 per tonne from $506-510, he said.
Categories: Bangla, Bangladesh, Bangladesh Economy, Bangladesh News, Daily Bangladesh News, Economy, News
