Sugar prices increasing as gas supply to refineries insufficient

Sugar has become dearer with prices going up by Tk 15 a kg at retail markets as millers cut supplies blaming insufficient gas flow at refineries. Packaged sugar, preferred by households, is now also hard to find in neighbourhood stores. Consumers, who are already battered by high inflation, have to pay as high as Tk 110 to get a kg of loose sugar. Refiners cut deliveries of the sweetener, for which Bangladesh relies highly on import, creating a crisis in the market.
The situation worsened gradually over the last 15 days. At Khatunganj, a wholesale market in Chattogram, prices of sugar shot up by Tk 100-150 per maund (37.32 kg) to Tk 3,780-3,800 a maund in the last two days in the face of falling supply. At retail shops, consumers had to pay up to Tk 110 for a kg of the sweetener, which cost less than Tk 100 per kg a week ago. In Dhaka city, consumers had to spend much higher than the government’s fixed price of Tk 90 a kg amidst reduced availability of the item.
Refiners said imports of sugar continue to be normal but reduced gas supply affected the refining as the process requires steaming. Mills also depend on gas for their own electricity generation. City group, the largest supplier of consumers’ items, said due to the acute gas crisis they are supplying 1,200 to 1,400 tonnes of sugar daily, which is half of its usual daily production of 3,000 tonnes. Businesspeople said the daily supply of sugar by private mills stands at around 4,000 tonnes, which is half of the total production capacity. Bangladesh requires 5,000-6,000 tonnes of sugar daily. However, the Consumers’ Rights Protection DG assured that the sugar price would return to normal soon.
The PMO asked the authorities concerned to constantly monitor markets to contain prices of essential commodities, including sugar, their stocks and supplies in the market. Ordinary consumers are in tight grip of the price hike of every product and there are no visible steps from the government to control the situation in favor of people.