KIEV, Aug 6: Attempts by the Ukraine government to shoot down soaring sugar prices have sparked howls of protest within the already bickering cabinet, with some ministers warning that the measures will bury the domestic sugar industry.

The dispute is the latest to highlight divisions within Ukraine’s new government, which have stalled passage of badly-needed economic reforms pushed by President Viktor Yushchenko with the aim of driving ex-Soviet Ukraine to membership in the European Union.

Prime Minister announced this week that in order to bring down sugar prices that have risen by more than 50 per cent in the past three months, the state would stock up on raw sugar imports, including those from Brazil, with the aim of releasing them onto the market as needed.—AFP