The city of Dhaka is currently facing a shortage of sugar, as loose sugar was being sold on Wednesday (3rd May) in markets for Tk135 to Tk140 per kg, which is much higher than the government-fixed price due to short supply.
The government set a price ceiling of Tk104 per kg for loose sugar and Tk109 for packaged sugar on April 8, but consumers complained that the ceiling hardly worked. In the retail market, packaged sugar has been hardly available, and even for loose sugar, consumers have to pay Tk135 to Tk140 per kg, up from Tk120 to Tk125 a kg last week. During visits to different markets in the capital on Wednesday, no packaged sugar was seen in stores, and traders reported no supply of sugar since the Eid-ul-Fitr festival late last month.
Wholesale companies have failed to deliver citing short supply, and importers attribute the short supply to the high price of sugar in the international market affecting domestic supply. They are waiting for the government to decide if they would go for import at higher prices and have reduced imports due to higher prices. According to the government agency, Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the price of sugar increased by 15 percent in a month while it increased by more than 62 percent in one year.
Salmat Sarder of Chadpur Store of Karwan Bazar stated that packaged sugar has not been available for a long time, and loose sugar purchased at the wholesale level is more than Tk130 per kg. Still, dealers are not giving purchase receipts. The scarcity of sugar has created challenges for consumers, and the government needs to address the issue by taking necessary measures to stabilize the sugar market and ensure fair prices for consumers.
