After eight years the state-owned Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation has decided to import sugar to rein in the volatile sugar market.

Initially Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC), which controls all the 15 state-owned sugar mills of the country, wants to import 50,000 tonnes of sugar before next July, ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.

BSFIC, in this regard, has sent a proposal to industries ministry expressing its interest in importing sugar from the international market.

“We have formally made the proposal to import sugar on Thursday but we began necessary ground works in this regard much earlier," said Ranajit Kumar Biswas, chairman of BSFIC.

He said the move was taken to keep sugar price under control during the Ramadan. In the past the corporation had also imported sugar in the time of need, he added. It imported sugar last time in 2002.

According to industries ministry sources, Industries Minister Dilip Barua has consented to the proposal.

“Though the ministry agreed to the proposal there are still some works to be done before inviting biddings," an industries ministry official said preferring not to be named.

In the month of Ramadan last year when sugar price went up significantly both in wholesale and retail markets, the state-owned commodity importer Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) took an initiative to buy sugar from the international market.

TCB, however, could not import sugar at that time due to some complications.

The retail price of sugar yesterday was around Tk 56 a kg in the capital while, according to TCB statistics, it was sold atTk34 to Tk 36 a kg a year back.

Bangladesh meets its demand of 13 lakh tonnes of sugar a year mainly through imports.

The state-owned sugar mills have the production capacity of 2.10 lakh metric tonnes but they produce only over 1 lakh tonne. The private sugar refiners of the country import the rest.