ISLAMABAD
Even though Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has taken notice of the sudden hike in sugar prices and has asked the provincial governments to immediately take rectifying steps, the situation is unlikely to be controlled, it was learnt.
An official source told that the prices of sugar have jumped from Rs 60 to Rs 65 per kilogram during the last few days, after the dissolution of the federal cabinet and emergence of the political crisis.
The sugar traders have taken full benefit of the situation and the federal government is unlikely to control it without accepting the sugar millers’ demand of allowing a rebate on exports, he added.
An official statement said that Dar has directed federal secretaries concerned to take up the matter regarding the spike in sugar price with provincial governments immediately.
The finance minister, who is also chairman of National Price Monitoring Committee, taking serious notice of the media reports regarding sugar price hike, said that there are standing instructions from ECC of the cabinet that stability in the price of sugar in the domestic market is to be ensured for benefit of the general consumers.
In line with minister’s instructions, secretary ministry of industries on Tuesday evening sent letters to chief secretaries of Sindh, Punjab and KP provinces expressing concern of the federal government over escalation in the price of sugar.
The mills, since March, were demanding to allow export of 1.2 million tons of sugar to stabilise prices in the domestic prices. However, the government initially allowed export of 0.4 million tons and later allowed export of another 0.6 million tons. The government did not allow a rebate on the export of sugar.
