Kisan Ittehad blames smuggling for sugar price hike

Kisan Ittehad President Khalid Hussain Batth has alleged that speculative hoarding, large-scale smuggling, and institutional inaction are driving the recent surge in sugar prices.

While addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday, Batth claimed that if the prime minister and the president intervened, the retail price of sugar could be brought down to Rs120 per kilogram within hours — without the need for duty- and tax-free imports.

He asserted that sugar is currently being sold at around Rs200 per kilogram despite a production cost of no more than Rs120. "Sugar mills purchased sugarcane from farmers at rates ranging between Rs220 and Rs460 per maund. The price hike has no justification," he said.

Batth demanded a transparent investigation into sugar mill owners to uncover who bought sugar, in what quantity, and at what price. He claimed that the current crisis has resulted in a financial scandal amounting to Rs114 billion, arising from speculation, smuggling, and now importation.

In response to a question, Batth revealed that a court case related to sugar and wheat prices remains pending with no hearings held to date. He further alleged that political figures from major parties, including the PML-N, PPP, and PTI, own significant shares in sugar mills. He claimed that even the families of the prime minister and president are involved in the sugar industry. Batth accused the government of artificially inflating prices due to incompetence and warned that the planned import of 500,000 tons of duty-free sugar would result in substantial losses to the national exchequer.

City traders oppose sugar import plan

The Wholesale Grocers Association has vehemently opposed the government's decision to import 500,000 tons of sugar, calling instead for an immediate crackdown on hoarders and speculative sugar dealers who are driving up market prices artificially.

Chairman of the association, Rauf Ibrahim, told The Express Tribune that dealers and the sugar speculation mafia currently hold stockpiles of approximately 2.6 million tons-enough to meet the country's needs for the next five months. "If swift action is taken against these dealers, wholesale sugar prices could drop to Rs150 per kilogram within just two days," Ibrahim claimed.

In a related development, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued two new SROs-No. 1216 and 1217-reducing sales tax on white crystal sugar imports from 18% to 0.25%. Additional relief includes exemption from Value Added Tax and a reduced withholding tax rate of 0.25%. According to FBR, the final deadline for importing sugar under these provisions is September 30, 2025.