The price of sugar in the retail market has increased by Rs50 per kg due to lack of intervention by the government in the past seven months.
The sugar price per kg was Rs100 in December, which has now increased to Rs150 amid a reported increase in smuggling of the commodity.
According to sources, it is suspected that a network has smuggled thousands of tonnes of sugar to Afghanistan during the period.
The Punjab government has now decided to launch a crackdown against the hoarders of flour and sugar in the province.
In this regard, the chief secretary recently assigned monitoring responsibilities to the police Special Branch to prevent the smuggling of sugar. He was presiding over a meeting in which an action plan to control the prices of flour and sugar was reviewed.
The chief secretary said on the occasion that sale of flour and sugar at higher than official rates was not acceptable.
He warned that the people who were exploiting consumers by creating artificial scarcity of goods would be dealt with strictly.
He instructed the officers concerned to stabilise the prices of flour and sugar through effective administrative measures, and to keep a close watch on the supply, demand and prices of the commodities.
It was decided that the Special Branch would provide support to the administration for taking action against hoarders.
The provincial secretaries of industry and finance, food director and other officers concerned.
Following the decisions, a letter was sent the deputy commissioners of Rahim Yar Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan to stop the smuggling of sugar through the border areas of the province. The officials were directed to take immediate steps to prevent the smuggling of sugar.
The sources said while speaking to The Express Tribune that not only was the price increasing but failure to curb the smuggling might also force the country to import sugar.
They alleged that the smuggling was still going on and influential people might be involved in it. However, no significant action against them by customs officials had been reported.
The Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) monitoring system has also been unhelpful in preventing the smuggling.
Now the responsibility has been given to the Special Branch to control the price of sugar across Punjab.
The sources said the decision had been taken following reports that a number of dealers involved in smuggling had retained stocks. The departments concerned posses the record of production of sugar by the mills.
The authorities have also installed cameras for monitoring sugar transportation but have so far failed to curb the smuggling. Only paperwork is being done in this regard and no action has been taken against those responsible for negligence in curbing the smuggling, the sources added.
Commenting on the situation, a consumer in Lahore, Mohammed Irfan, said sugar was not available in the utility stores but it was being sold elsewhere in the markets at Rs150 per kilogramme despite the orders to curb the smuggling and rein in the prices.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 21st, 2023.
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