Sugar mill makes losses, but the profits of Carew - Bangladesh's sole licenced distillery - hit 88-year high

Despite paying Tk 625 million to import sugar, the distillery portion of the business raked in a substantial profit

Despite the high cost of importing sugar, Carew & Co, Bangladesh’s only licenced alcohol distillery, has posted its highest profits in the 88 years since it started operations.

Sugar Mill Managing Director Md Rabbik Hasan said that Carew posted record profits in the 2024-25 fiscal year. Despite paying Tk 1.4 billion in taxes to state coffers and nearly Tk 625 million in sugar imports, the profits amounted to over Tk 1.29 billion.

According to authorities, the sugar mill was established in 1938. Despite using old-fashioned machinery, the mill has managed to keep running. Mechanical faults regularly occur during sugar production. For these reasons, its sugar business has not been profitable.

In this fiscal year, the distillery department produced 205,200 cases of foreign liquor, 289,000 proof litres of CS country spirit, and 21,000 litres of vinegar, which brought in over Tk 1.90 billion in sales.

Apart from this, Tk 3.61 million in profits came in from commercial farming, Tk 3 million from experimental farms, Tk 7.84 million from bio-fertiliser farms, and Tk 520,000 from pharmaceuticals.

MD Rabbik said Carew has paid Tk 1.4 billion to the government as revenue and VAT on manufactured goods.

Regarding the losses in the sugar mill, General Manager (Factory) Sumon Kumar said, “The factory is hobbled by age. BMR work is ongoing at the factory. Once the work is completed, the workers and employees will start working with renewed enthusiasm. The losses will reduce.

“To further cut losses, all efforts have been made to cultivate sugarcane with advanced technology, plant companion crops alongside sugarcane, and plant sugarcane varieties that have high sugar content.”

Carew General Manager (Distillery) Rajibul Hasan said that production has been increased through automation in the distillery section and sales have increased due to the use of state-of-the-art bottling processes. As a result, it has brought in a hefty profit.