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Rs134 billion has been made by sugar profiteers. PHOTO: PIXABAY
KARACHI:
The Wholesale Grocers Association has termed the prevailing sugar price hike an “artificial crisis,” alleging that despite a bumper sugarcane crop and imports, deliberate delay in crushing by sugar millers is driving prices upward. The association has urged the government to take strict action against the elements responsible.
Wholesale Grocers Association Chairman Rauf Ibrahim told The Express Tribune that the crisis has been “systematically engineered” as only 10% of sugar mills have begun crushing, while the remaining 90% have yet to start operations despite the season being in full swing.
He said that timely crushing of the available sugarcane crop could bring the retail price of sugar down to around Rs120/kg, providing immediate relief to the public.
“This year, sugarcane production has increased by 25%, but even with a bumper crop and imports, the public is being forced to buy sugar at exorbitant rates,” he added. According to Ibrahim, the ex-mill price in Karachi has shot up from Rs175 to Rs185 per kg, the wholesale rate has reached Rs187, and retail prices have crossed the Rs200 mark. In Punjab and K-P, sugar is being sold anywhere between Rs200 and Rs210/kg.
