Setabganj and Pabna, two state-run sugar mills, stopped crushing of sugarcane mainly due to shortfall in the supply of the same. An official of the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) said though the two mills stopped their production they have almost fulfilled the target set by the BSFIC earlier. Sources said the Setabganj Sugar Mill stopped production on February 3 and Pabna Sugar Mill on February 2. The BSFIC sources said the Pabna Sugar Mill produced 6,228 tonnes of sugar against its target at 6,930 tonnes while Setabganj Sugar Mill in Dinajpur produced 5,995 tonnes of sugar against its target at 6,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, market operators said the price of sugar registered a fresh hike by Tk 20 per maund Tuesday due to short supply of the item, its price hike internationally and the recent increase in freight charges. Market operators, however, said sugar was being sold at Tk 1855 per maund Tuesday compared to its previous rate at Tk 1835. When asked, the BSFIC official said normally the crushing of sugarcane ends in March, but, two sugar mills were forced to stop their production mainly on account of acute supply shortfall of sugarcane from the mills' in the adjacent areas
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