The Finance Ministry will cut import duties on sugar to 15 percent, in April, in order to ensure sufficient supply for the local market.

The current tariff on refined sugar is 40 percent while raw sugar is subject to a 25 percent tax.

According to the Finance Ministry, the tax cut will help keep domestic prices stable. Since the Tet holiday sugar has sold for as much as VND24,000 per kilogram.

The price offered under the state price stabilization program is only VND18,000 per kilogram.

The Ministry of Industry has set import quotas at 250,000 tons of both raw and refined sugar. That compares to the 300,000 tons of imported sugar allowed for 2010.