Molasses import thru Hili rises amid sugar mills closure

Bangladesh used to export molasses to India, but now it has to import the item from the neighbouring country as local production has fallen due to closure of most of the state-owned sugar mills.

Mainly a cattle feed, molasses is also used as an ingredient in poultry and fish feed.

Importer Anwarul Haque said molasses production has halved after half of the country's sugar mills were shut down in 2020-21. On the other hand, its demand has increased rapidly in the last five to six years, especially in the dairy industry.

Whereas the annual demand for molasses is 30,000-35,000 tonnes per year the production capacity is less than 20,000 tonnes in all the sugar mills in the country, he added.

Rafiqul Islam, who came from Pabna to buy molasses at Hili Land Port, said that the supply of molasses to his dairy farm was disrupted. Molasses is not available as per their demand even for a higher price.

Truck driver Al Amin Hossain said he came to Hili to load his truck with molasses on behalf of an importer in Jaypurhat. This molasses will be delivered to dairy firms and feed mills in Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal, Mymensingh, Jhenaidah, Chuadanga, Pabna, Chattogram, Dhaka, etc.

Indian truck driver Shan Mohammad brought molasses to Hili from the Indian state of Punjab, covering 1,750 kilometres of road. He said it usually takes five to six days to reach Bangladesh.

People concerned said if the closed state-owned sugar mills are re-opened, it will reduce the dependence on imports.

Molasses import from India started in February 2021 through Hili Land Port, and from July to December, more than 12,000 tonnes of molasses was imported through the port, said SM Nurul Alam Khan, revenue officer, Hili Land Customs Station, adding the government earned Tk3.08 crore.

In December last year, 2,203 tonnes of molasses was imported through the land port, which was 1,752 tonnes in November. Tk3,800 is paid as import duty per tonne of molasses, he added.

He further said four to five trucks of molasses are imported a week on average. Each truck carries around 35 tonnes of molasses.