The Federal Government has been urged to lift ban on importation of sugar to save Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMSEs), cottage industries and bakers closing down on daily basis.

An industrialist, Mr. Durodola Omolewa Kuteyi, who made the appeal in Lagos, regretted that many businesses have become moribund as a result of the escalating price of sugar, which has also affected a good number of food products.

Kuteyi, the Managing Director of Spectra Industries Limited, Lagos, said: “The prices of a lot of foods were affected by the price of sugar and the producers kept on increasing the price every day, faster than the exchange rate.

“What the Federal Government can do is to allow people to import sugar, they don’t need to put any kobo into it, the price will come down naturally and everything will come back to normal. You can imagine that this development has led to increase in the price of plastic soft drinks from N200 to N350.

“Look also at the price of bread, the masses can no longer afford it. The small scale people producing chinchin can no longer afford sugar, likewise other businesses, which are closing down, it’s because of sugar.

“For instance, if the Federal Government gives the go-ahead to local contractors to import cements, cement producers will immediately crash their prices.”

Kuteyi said the high prices of food started from the uncontrolled increase in the price of sugar. “The sugar price increase is on daily basis. Most food processors use sugar as the price of sugar goes up food prices also move up. Government should allow importation of sugar now.

“If government makes the announcement today, by tomorrow, price of sugar will come down and food prices will crash. Bread will be available to the masses.”