Despite the onset of the crushing season in Sindh and Punjab and the availability of large stocks of imported sugar, wholesale and retail sugar prices in the country have risen to record highs.
According to Rauf Ibrahim, president of the Wholesale Grocers Association, the wholesale price of sugar in Karachi has touched Rs 202 per kilogram for the first time. “Owners of sugar mills in Sindh have stopped the supply of sugar to Karachi’s wholesale markets for the last two days,” he said.
As part of an organized strategy, the wholesale price of sugar has reached Rs175 per kilogram in Punjab and Rs200 per kilogram in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he added.
In various areas of Karachi, the retail price of sugar has now increased to Rs210 to Rs215 per kilogram.
Read: Sugar mills blame government policy for price increases
Due to the supply from the sugar mills, fears have arisen that wholesale prices may rise even more in the coming days. Ibrahim said sugar mills have been buying sugarcane from farmers at Rs350 to Rs400 per maund, which translates to a production cost of Rs10 per kilogram for the mills.
He further stated that the IMF in its report has mentioned cartelization by sugar mill owners, but the government has failed to act.
The position of the IMF is correct, he said, and therefore the government must immediately take strict action against the cartelization of the sugar mills in the interest of the public.
