ISLAMABAD: The government’s efforts to bring down sugar prices have failed to produce any results so far, as the price of sugar has been jacked up in various parts of the country.
The ex-mill price of the essential commodity has gone up Rs9 in Sindh after which its price has soared to Rs136 per kilogram now. In two weeks, the ex-mill price of sugar has gone up by Rs44 per kg.
In Lahore, the price of sugar currently stands at Rs135 per kg as the price of the commodity has increased by Rs5 per kg in the open market. The market sources said that the price of sugar in the wholesale market has increased by Rs9 per kg. The price of sugar in Akbari Mandi has risen to Rs135 per kg, whereas retail sugar is being sold at Rs140 per kg.
The sources said that an artificial shortage of sugar has been created while a 50kg bag’s price has increased to Rs6,600 from Rs6,200 in the metropolis.
In the wholesale market of Peshawar, the price of sugar has increased by Rs8 per kg. A similar situation is being witnessed in Quetta, where the price of sugar has gone up from Rs124 to Rs129 per kg.
The experts were of the view that delay in decisions by the centre and provinces is to be blamed for the crisis and people are paying the price of this. Sugar price has gone up by Rs36 in one month to Rs136 while retailers are not willing to sell it below Rs145.
Earlier on October 31, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar announced to fix the minimum support price for sugarcane in the province at Rs225 per 40 kilograms.
In a series of messages from his personal Twitter handle on Sunday, Usman Buzdar said that until 2018, the sugarcane growers used to get Rs110 to Rs120 per 40 kilograms as compared to the set price of Rs180 by the government. “Even this amount was being received by them after months,” he said, adding that however, the policies of the incumbent government have ensured timely and due payments during the past three years.
Meanwhile, the Sindh cabinet decided to fix the minimum support price for sugarcane at Rs250 per 40 kilograms. – TLTP