The government is set to import 50,000 metric tons of sugar, in order to control the market and meet shortages in the country. The sugar imported through London based firm ED&F Man Sugar Limited at a rate of $470 with per ton, resulting in a total cost of Tk 211.32 crore. The retail price of sugar has now dropped to Tk56 per kg from Tk60 one month ago, while packed sugar is selling at Tk65 per kg as compared to Tk69 a month earlier. The annual demand for sugar in Bangladesh is at 1.5 million tons. About 7-8% of this is produced by 15 state-run sugar mills, while the rest is imported from the private sector.