Despite the start of crushing season in Sindh and Punjab and availability of large stocks of imported sugar, wholesale and retail sugar prices in the country have risen to record levels.
According to Rauf Ibrahim, president of the Wholesale Groceries Association, the wholesale price of sugar in Karachi has reached Rs 202 per kilogram for the first time. “Sugar mill owners in Sindh have stopped supply of sugar to the wholesale markets of Karachi for the last two days,” he said.
As part of an organized strategy, the wholesale price of sugar has reached Rs 175 per kilogram in Punjab and Rs 200 per kilogram in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he added.
In several areas of Karachi, the retail price of sugar has now risen from Rs 210 to Rs 215 per kilogram.
Read: Sugar mills blame government policy for rising prices
Due to the suspension of supply by sugar mills, fears have been raised that wholesale prices could rise further in the coming days. Ibrahim said sugar mills have been purchasing sugarcane from farmers at a price of Rs 350 to Rs 400 per maund, which translates into a production cost of Rs 10 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 not taken action.
The IMF’s position is correct, he said, and that is why the government must immediately take strict measures against cartelization of sugar mills in the public interest.
