Sugar prices drop amid crackdown

Prices at both wholesale, retail levels witness decline

KARACHI:

In a welcome relief for consumers, the prices of sugar have dropped at both the wholesale and retail levels after the government's crackdown on its smuggling and hoarding.

At the retail level, the price of sugar has decreased by Rs5 to Rs170 per kilo. Meanwhile, in the wholesale market, the price has gone down from Rs160 to Rs158 per kilogramme, according to Wholesale Grocers Association Chairman Rauf Ibrahim.

Moreover, the ex-mill price of sugar has also seen a decrease of Rs3, leading to a drop in the price of ex-mill sugar from Rs158 to Rs155 per kilo. The rise in sugar prices has been a cause for concern for consumers in recent weeks.

In Quetta and Peshawar, the retail price of sugar reached a record high of Rs200 per kilo, followed by Rs195 in Karachi and Rawalpindi, Rs190 in Islamabad, and Rs180 in Faisalabad, Sialkot, Multan, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana during the last week, as per the official data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The national average maximum price stood at Rs 200 per kilo.

This increase in sugar prices was attributed to two factors. First, a significant amount of sugar was smuggled out of the country, totalling around 800,000 tonnes, according to media reports.

Secondly, the previous government (PDM) had permitted the legal export of 250,000 tonnes of sugar since February.

These factors led to a shortage in the domestic market and subsequent price hikes.

However, the government took action to tackle the situation.

The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) imposed a ban on sugar exports in early August as a measure to control the spiralling prices.

In addition, the authorities launched a crackdown on sugar smuggling and hoarding, leading to a decrease in the prices.