Government turns blind eye to sugar crisis, traders slam bogus raids

Amid rising concerns over skyrocketing sugar prices during Ramadan, the government is under fire for lack of action against the real contributors to the crisis.

Sugar prices, which stood at approximately PKR 130 per kilogram before the holy month, have soared to PKR 180 per kilogram across Pakistan.

Muhammad Kashif Chaudhry, President of Markazi Tanzeem-e-Tajran Pakistan, issued a video statement lambasting the administration’s recent crackdown on shops, alleging that it involved unjustified price controls and the humiliation of traders.

Calling the government’s actions "unacceptable," Chaudhry criticized its earlier policy of allowing sugar exports and subsidizing millers, which, he claimed, had depleted buffer stocks and facilitated artificial shortages.

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Earlier, a 10-member committee led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar set new sugar prices at PKR 164 per kilogram for retail and PKR 159 per kilogram at the ex-factory level, marking a 13% hike.

This move comes after sugar exports of 600,000 metric tonnes last year allowed millers to profit both domestically and internationally, despite promises to maintain price stability.

Dar stated that the new rates would apply for one month, acknowledging that the PKR 19-per-kilogram increase provides an additional PKR 2.8 billion windfall for millers.

Critics argue that this contradicts the government’s initial assurance that sugar prices would remain unchanged following the export allowance.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported that sugar prices had jumped by an average of PKR 27 per kilogram compared to the same period last year, with maximum rates reaching PKR 180 in cities like Karachi and Islamabad.