The government will not completely withdraw the sugar subsidy to avoid burdening the people, Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.

NONE He said without the subsidy, the price of sugar, currently sold at RM1.45 per kg, would increase to RM2.50 to RM2.60 per kg.

"At the moment, the government has no plans to withdraw the sugar subsidy where 70 percent is bought at the old price, while the remaining 30 percent based on current price," he said.

He said the government had to spend more than RM1 billion a year to import sugar, including from Thailand, Australia and Brazil to met local needs.

Ismail Sabri said the people should reduce their intake of sugar to avoid getting chronic diseases like diabetes.

He said that based on a survey by the Health Ministry, an estimated 1.2 million people would suffer from diabetic by 2011, which figure was expected to increase to 2.6 million by 2030, if sugar consumption was not reduced.

- Bernama