LAHORE: Sugar prices across the country have surged to Rs100/kg or more in various cities of the country, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Sunday.
According to PBS data, sugar is being sold at the highest price, Rs110 per kg, in Karachi while the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are following at Rs105 per kg.
In six cities across the country, the price of sugar has risen to Rs100/kg, the PBS said.
In Quetta, Bahawalpur, Multan, Peshawar and Sialkot, the price of sugar has reached Rs100 per kg while it is being sold for Rs98-100 per kg in Hyderabad. In Faisalabad, it is being sold for Rs98 per kg.
The average price of sugar throughout the country has reached Rs98 per kg.
Similarly, in Khuzdar, sugar is being sold for Rs97 per kg while in Sargodha it is being sold for Rs96 per kg. In Sukkur, the price of sugar is Rs98 per kg, in Larkana Rs95 per kg while in Bannu is it being sold for Rs95 per kg.
Earlier on January 11, Profit had reported that differences among sugar mills, farmers and the authorities remained unaddressed, which may cause a further jump in the commodity’s price.
During a meeting of the Sugar Advisory Board, sugar millers expressed anger and frustration over the failure of the government to ensure a smooth supply of sugarcane on the support price of Rs200 per 40 kilograms and indicated that if the government failed in materialising its commitment, the country may see an increase in the price of sugar in the coming weeks.
The industries ministry made the calculations that the retail price of sugar should be between Rs75 and 80, based on cane price at Rs200 per maund.
Federal Minister of Industries and Production Hammad Azhar had informed the meeting that if the provincial authorities fail to reach any consensus with the sugar mills, there will be no option but to import either raw sugar for processing at the mills or import refined sugar and sell it at subsidised rates to consumers through utility stores.
Meanwhile, the Sindh cane commissioner had acknowledged that rates were over Rs300 in some parts of the province due to the shortage of cane.
According to sources, the increasing role of middlemen after a new law under which all payments are needed to be made through banks contributes as one of the causes of the jump in sugar prices.
The advisory board’s meeting was informed that a new class of middlemen was present near sugar mills because the new law required the sellers to have a bank account and most of the farmers don’t have it.
Hakim Ali Baloch, a farmer, claimed that bank account was an issue and that the new regulations require that “Cane Purchase Receipts (CPR) are to be issued to growers by the mills and amount to be paid through banks”.
“Many people do not have an account because the bank is around 20 kilometres away,” he added.
Moreover, the All Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) had also expressed concerns that the sugarcane was not supplied to mills at the official support price, demanding the government to bring down sugar prices by abolishing 17 per cent sales tax on refined sugar, just like in the case of flour and pulses.
Two days later, the government had informed the National Price Monitoring Committee (NPMC) that production of sugar is likely to increase this year due to improved sugarcane crushing activity, which would release pressure on the upward price trend.
A Punjab government official had told a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, to review the availability of essential commodities, including wheat, sugar, eggs, edible oil, etc., that strict action has been taken against the role of middlemen in the sugarcane market as directed by NPMC.
