BSFIC focuses to boost sugar production

“We are installing new machinery and technology to attain a higher level of production and to meet the sugar demand of the countrymen”, says Arifur Rahman Apu

Joynal Abedin

Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) is focusing to boost production by modernizing state-owned sugar mills in a bid to meet the local demand and minimize the losses of public money.

“We are installing new machinery and technology to attain a higher level of production so that we can be able to meet the sugar demand of the countrymen”, told Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) Chairman Arifur Rahman Apu to the Daily Tribunal recently at his office in the capital. However, the conversation between the Chairman and the Reporter is given in below for readers’ knowledge.

The Daily Tribunal Question: What is the present situation of the sugar corporation in terms of sugar production and supply in the country?

Arifur Rahman Apu: The local demand for sugar is approximately 1.8-million metric tons annually, but the contribution of state mills is now 80,000 metric tons. Instead of increasing the production, it is declining gradually mainly for the backdated machinery of the state-owned sugar mills in the country. Actually, the existing machinery of most of the sugar mills has lost its validity for a long, impeding ensuring the expected level of production. The state-owned sugar mills under the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation contributed around two million a decade ago and such production quantity declined drastically in the contemporary period because of old production technology.

Alongside the technological limitation, the production cost increased significantly in recent years, imposing a constant threat on the higher production of sugar mills.

Apart from this, an inadequate supply of raw sugar is also playing a pivotal role in declining the production of the corporation.

The Daily Tribunal Question: How many mills are operating under Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation?

Arifur Rahman Apu: Currently, some nine mills are operating under BSFIC. Actually, the government incurred huge losses every year to run the state-owned sugar mills. At one stage, the authority was forced to shut down a good number of mills to reduce the loss amount.

A recent media report disclosed that over the last five years, the BSFIC incurred a loss amount worth nearly Tk 40 billion, and higher production costs because of the decades-old production bases were mainly blamed for the poor performances of the mills. Bangladesh has 15 state-owned sugar mills, but the government was forced to close the operation of some six sugar mills. Following a government instruction, the BSFIC halted production at six out of 15 state-owned mills in December 2020 for an indefinite period. However, the closed mills are Pabna Sugar Mills in Iswardi, Shyampur Sugar Mills in Rangpur, Panchagarh Sugar Mills, Setabganj Sugar Mills in Dinajpur, Rangpur Sugar Mills, and Kushtia Sugar Mills.

The Daily Tribunal Question: Why the corporation is incurring huge losses every year?

Arifur Rahman Apu: The chairman quoted the reference of the closed sugar mill namely Rangpur Sugar Mill. In the last, the production cost of per kilogram sugar was Tk 186.24 under the said sugar mill. The Rangpur sugar mill has a loan amount worth Tk 156 crore to the bank. If we calculate the interest money, ultimately the production cost stood at Tk 311.27. We are supplying per kilogram of sugar at a rate of Tk 53.35.

All the sugar mills are supplying a similar situation and they are incurring huge losses every year.

The government is providing subsidies on sugar and we are supplying a sugar price range between Tk 53 to Tk 57, and for that, per kilogram sugar is being sold at Tk 75 in the retail market.

The Daily Tribunal Question: What is your specific plan to boost production?

Arifur Rahman Apu: The BSFIC plans to buy sugarcane from farmers located in areas near the closed mills so that the crop can be threshed in mills and operate the mills accordingly. We are working for revitalizing the industrial bases to ensure a sustainable supply of sugar in the market. The authorities are refurbishing the mills with modern machinery in order to help the stressed corporation to rebound by enhancing production.