Mehedi Hasan, Dhaka: It was not very long ago when edible oil was out of the market. Consumers were not getting the oil in the markets as it was hoarded by unscrupulous traders across the country.
Are consumers facing the same situation with sugar? The question came to the surface in the wake of the supply crunch of the sweetener in the market.
“All the millers together are supplying 4,500-5,000 tonnes of sugar to the markets every day. There is no shortage of supply of sugar,” Biswajit Saha, director of corporate and regulatory affairs, of City Group, told Business Insider Bangladesh on Tuesday.
“Where is this sugar going,” asked Saha of City Group, one of the two major players in the sugar market. Meghna Group of Industries is the other major player in this segment.
Moreover, he said they are selling sugar from moving trucks at Tk 95 per kg, otherwise, traders would have charged consumers Tk 120 a kg.
Meanwhile, wholesalers and retailers have different views from millers.
While talking to the reporter, a trader at Kawran Bazar wholesale market, on Monday said that he has not been keeping and selling sugar at his shop for the last one week.
“I have to buy per kg of sugar at Tk 95 then, how will I make a profit as the government fixed Tk 90 per kg? I do not keep sugar at my shop in fear of raids by the government officials,” said a trader wishing not to be named.
Besides, some retailers blamed the millers for not ensuring an adequate supply of sugar in the market. They themselves are selling sugar at different places in the capital at Tk 95 per kg.
Md Babul, a salesman of Mayar Doa General Store at Kawran Bazar, said there is no sugar in the market for the last 15 days. Suddenly, the dealers stopped supplying sugar without any prior notice, he added.
He sees the sale of sugar by moving trucks as the main cause of the short supply.
Retailer Jasim Uddin told the reporter that they have to buy per kg of sugar at Tk 94 and they have to sell it at Tk 95 in line with the government fixed price.
“Our expenses are not even met after selling sugar at a profit of Tk 1 per kg. So I stopped selling the sweeter item,” Jasim said.
Azizul Haque, also a retailer in the same market, said the cost per 50 kgs sack stands at Tk 5,200.
“We have to incur a loss if we cannot sell it at Tk 110 to Tk 115 per kg,” he said.
According to the mill owners, the country’s annual demand for sugar is 25 lakh tonnes while domestic production is up to 1 lakh tonnes.
At present, five groups — CT, Meghna, S Alam, Abdul Monem and Deshbandhu — have reserves of unrefined sugar of around 1.50 lakh tonnes.
Besides, around 3.30 lakh tonnes of sugar is in the pipeline to be imported to meet the local demand, according to the government.
