On 28 August 2026, the customs duty on imported sugar increased from 483.72c/kg to 697.92c/kg. The increase follows Itac’s decision to raise the Dollar-Based Reference Price (DBRP) for sugar from US$680/ton to US$785/ton. The new duty applies to sugar imported under tariff subheadings 1701.12, 1701.13, 1701.14, 1701.91 and 1701.99.
What are the duty implications of this increase?
Using the new US$785/ton reference price and the applicable world sugar price and exchange-rate adjustments, Itac calculated a new sugar duty of 697.92c/kg, up from the previous 483.72c/kg.
This does not mean the duty will remain at 697.92c/kg indefinitely. The sugar tariff is designed to move with world prices. If the 20-trading-day moving average of the London No. 5 sugar price moves by more than US$20/ton for 20 consecutive trading days, a new duty can be triggered.
For now, however, imported sugar just became considerably more expensive.