Wholesale, retail sugar prices hit record levels despite ample stocks

Despite the start of the crushing season in Sindh and Punjab and the availability of large stocks of imported sugar, wholesale and retail sugar prices in the country have surged to record levels.

According to Rauf Ibrahim, Chairman of the Wholesale Grocers Association, the wholesale price of sugar in Karachi has, for the first time, reached Rs202 per kilogram. "Sugar mill owners in Sindh have halted the supply of sugar to Karachi’s wholesale markets for the past two days," he said.

As part of an organised strategy, the wholesale price of sugar has reached Rs175 per kilogram in Punjab and Rs200 per kilogram in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he added.

In various areas of Karachi, the retail price of sugar has now climbed to Rs210 to Rs215 per kilogram.

Read: Sugar mills blame government policy for price hike

Due to the suspension of supply from sugar mills, fears have emerged that wholesale prices may rise even further in the coming days. Ibrahim said sugar mills have been purchasing sugarcane from farmers at Rs350 to Rs400 per maund, which translates to a production cost of Rs10 per kilogram for the mills.

He further stated that the IMF, in its report, has mentioned cartelization by sugar mill owners, but the government has failed to take action.

The IMF’s stance is correct, he said, and therefore the government must immediately take strict measures against the sugar mills’ cartelization in the public interest.