Kuala Lumpur: Group chief executive officer Syed Feizal Syed Mohammad said MSM, which produces refined sugar for both industrial and retail consumption, and Central Sugars Refinery Sdn Bhd (CSR) have jointly requested the government to consider imposing a tariff on imported sugar, particularly from Thailand, to safeguard the domestic sugar industry from dumping practices.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Syed Feizal pointed out that when Thai sugar was dumped into Vietnam’s market, the Vietnamese did not hesitate to impose a 48 per cent tariff. He highlighted that MSM’s combined production capacity with CSR stands at about 2.8 million tonnes per year, significantly exceeding the domestic demand of approximately 1.55 million tonnes annually.

Syed Feizal stressed that MSM can compete in terms of scale and efficiency. However, he emphasized the necessity of protection against price dumping. He argued that liberalizing the market might sometimes harm the local industry and the national currency.

In terms of the revision and expansion of the Sales and Service Tax (SST), Syed Feizal mentioned that MSM is actively engaging with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to ascertain whether the five per cent SST applies to raw sugar used in production. He noted that while MSM could pass the cost to industrial users, the retail segment would be affected due to the controlled ceiling price on consumer products. He stressed the need for clarity on this issue and stated that MSM is in discussions with the government to address it.