Sugar price keeps rising in Punjab

No respite for consumers despite ample stock, nearing crushing time

RAHIM YAR KHAN:

The sugar price in Punjab continues to rise despite the availability of sufficient stock and the next sugarcane crushing season just two months ahead.

While the consumers have faced the burden of the increase in the sugar price to Rs175 per kg, the government has also lost billions of rupees due to smuggling of the commodity.

The sugar mills bought cheap sugarcane during the crushing season in 2022-23 due to better harvest and the government did not have to spend foreign exchange to import sugar this year.

But due to the ongoing political instability and weak checks and balances in the country, sugar smuggling and price speculation has hit the consumers.

Despite the availability of sugar stock as per requirement, the price has increased by Rs95 to Rs175 per kg.

It is suspected that a mafia has earned billions of rupees by increasing the sugar prices of sugar.

According to the stock report of sugar mills of Punjab, 1.328 million maunds of sugar are lying in the warehouses.

The mills of Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab have a stock of 2.086 maund, which is sufficient for the country’s needs. The private sector also has extensive stocks.

Despite the approval of the provincial cabinet for the implementation of the Punjab Foodstuffs (Sugar) Order 2023, speculative trade has reached its peak.

Sugar is being sold at double prices, while the increase in the cost of fertilisers, electricity, petrol and diesel are being borne by the farmers, which has added to their economic hardship. The situation has also resulted in a decline in sugarcane cultivation.

According to Anjuman-e-Tahafuz Kashtkaran chairman Sardar Yaqoob Sindhu, the way the price of sugar is increasing rapidly in the country is unprecedented.

He alleged that mill owners had earned billions of rupees by increasing the prices every now and then following a stay order issued by the Lahore High Court.

According to food department officials, the mills had completed crushing in March and in view of all the expenses, the sugar price was fixed in April at Rs95 per kg, with the retail price at Rs100 per kg.

However, the federal government allowed the export of 250,000 metric tonnes of sugar the same month. At the same time, sugar smuggling to Afghanistan also began. According to sources, it has been estimated that about 700,000 tonnes of sugar has been smuggled to Afghanistan so far.

After shortage of sugar in the country because of the smuggling and export, the mafia started increasing the prices. When the price began rising, the federal food ministry fixed the retail price at around Rs100 in the last week of April.

However, a sugar mill filed a petition and the LHC suspended the price notification on May 4. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for September 20.

Went the price of sugar again went up, the Punjab government started the process of fixing the rate, but the LHC issued a stay order on August 1 and set the next hearing on September 5.

Meanwhile, the sugar mills have increased the retail price from Rs100 to Rs175 per kg.

Kisan Bachao Tehreek chairman Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin said the Supreme Court and the federal and provincial governments should examine the reasons for the increase in the price and recover the excess amount charged from the consumers to bring the rates to the previous level.

Former cane commissioner and food secretary Zaman Wattoo told The Express Tribune that the Punjab government had decided to bring in the grip of law the elements involved in hoarding, overcharging and smuggling of sugar, and had implemented the Punjab Foodstuffs (Sugar) Order 2023 to control sugar prices and confiscate hoarded sugar.

The confiscated sugar is sold at the official price and the amount deposited in the treasury. Price manipulation is punishable by three-year imprisonment.

The cane commissioner was empowered to determine the ex-mill price and the deputy commissioners to determine the retail price. Punjab government gave the power to carry out raids to various officers.

On the other hand, leaders of the Sugar Mills Association contended that the labour and transport costs had increased and every item in the markets had become expensive but only the sugar mills were being targeted.

Punjab Cane Commissioner Abdul Rauf has sent letters to the deputy commissioners concerned, warning, “If the smuggling of sugar is not stopped, we may have to face a crisis.”

He said the stocks are running out due to sugar smuggling so the they should be strictly monitored, and strict legal action taken against the smugglers.

According to the sources, the cane commissioner has sent the letters to the DCs of Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali and Rahim Yar Khan.