Merchants threaten sugar sales halt
The Central Grocery Merchants Association has sent a formal letter of protest to the federal government over the worsening sugar crisis, criticising its pricing policies and threatening to suspend sugar sales if wholesale prices continue to rise unchecked.
Association Secretary General Rizwan Shaukat and Patron-in-Chief Saleem Pervaiz Butt stated that the price of a 50kg sugar sack in the wholesale market is increasing by Rs100 every other day. Sugar is now being sold at Rs174-177 per kg wholesale and has reached Rs190 per kg in retail markets. If prices continue to rise, it is expected to hit Rs200 per kg soon.
Meanwhile, district authorities are pressuring retailers to sell sugar at Rs. 164 per kgan unfeasible demand, according to the association. They emphasised that wholesale sugar costs Rs177 per kg, and additional costs for transportation, loading/unloading, and packaging add up to Rs13 per kg.
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