Colombo, Sri Lanka: Sugar importers have called on President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake to keep the current sugar import tax unchanged, warning that any increase will push prices higher and can cause serious disruptions in the market.
Importers said this tax was originally meant to protect local sugar producers like Pelawatte and Sewanagala. But now, they claim, a few big importers, who are sitting on about 60,000 metric tonnes of sugar in storage, are quietly pressuring the government through intermediaries to raise the tax from Rs. 50 to Rs. 80 per kilo, reported Daily Mirror Online.
They warned that if the tax is increased by Rs. 30, these large stockholders could make an extra Rs. 1.8 billion in profit without any added expense. Meanwhile, small and mid-sized importers, who have run out of stock and are waiting for new shipments, would be unfairly impacted as they lack the capacity to compete with the bigger players on price.
They also cautioned that the public would end up paying more, as any tax hike would lead to price increases for common goods like tea, baked items, sweets, and soft drinks. The current Rs. 50 tax is already high compared to international levels, they noted, and raising it now would create artificial shortages, destabilize the market, and burden ordinary people.
Importers also pointed out that local sugar is mostly brown and unrefined, making it unsuitable for use in manufacturing sectors like confectionery, beverages, and bakeries. They stressed that domestic sugar production only covers about 10 percent of the country’s needs, making imports essential.
