Latest news with #Rs210
Business Recorder
5 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Sugar price in capital soars to Rs210 per kg
ISLAMABAD: Sugar price in federal capital has reached Rs210 per kg level against government fixed price of Rs170, Business Recorder noted. According to retailers the distributors have stopped supplying sugar to the shopkeepers even at Rs9,000 per bag of 50kg which prior to government permission to the sugar millers was selling at Rs6,000 a year ago, but after attaining export permission and successfully exporting the allowed quantity, the millers gradually started escalating sugar prices and recently in wholesale market it touched Rs9,400 mark. The retail sugar prices after Ramadan 2025 have witnessed a sharp increase and reached from Rs135 per kg to Rs210 per kg mark an increase Rs75 per kg or 55 percent. Shopkeepers said that for a few days, the commodity price after government action came down but consequently owing to supply shortage by the sugar millers, the stockists/distributors also stopped supply of the commodity to the retailers, as a result now prices have touched all time high even on superstores. Business Recorder in April 2024 had mentioned the plan of the sugar industry of taking the ex-mill sugar price to Rs170 per 50 kg bag, saying that sugarcane prices have gone up from Rs350 per 40kg to Rs450. In a meeting of Sugar Advisory Board held on April 2024 'the millers argued that in 2023 sugarcane price was Rs350 per 40kg which now has reached to Rs450 per 40kg and production cost of sugar at present stands at Rs170 per kg while in retail market refined sugar was available in the range of Rs145-150 per kg which is lowest price in the world'. The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) prior to attaining sugar export permission had ensured the government of devising a mechanism where by price stability of sugar will be ensured before exporting surplus stock produced in the country. As per April 2024 SAB's meeting, the provinces and PSMA would ensure smooth supply of commodity in the domestic market and the price stability till start of next crushing season. It was agreed to seek authenticated data on available sugar stocks, including expected sugar production from beet, and recommendations regarding export from provinces before taking any final decision on the export of sugar. The representatives of PSMA informed the government officials that Pakistan at present has around 1.6 million tons of additional sugar which should be exported. The PSMA has asked the government to allow export of one million tons of refined sugar in first phase which will bring around $650-700 million foreign exchange for the country and rest of the 0.6 million tons sugar be exported in two phases in May and June 2024. The PSMA in 2024 also informed the government that if the government did not allow sugar export it will result in the smuggling of the commodity to Iran, Afghanistan and other countries as a result the country will be deprive of the precious foreign exchange while smugglers will take advantage of the situation. According to the officials, locally industrial sector was consuming 85 percent of the sugar while the rest 15 percent was of domestic use. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
6 hours ago
- Business
- Express Tribune
Sugar shortage persists despite new supply
The ongoing sugar crisis in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad has seen only marginal improvement, with market instability persisting. On Monday, 600 sugar bags were supplied to the Rawalpindi district by local sugar mills at the administration's request. However, the limited stock was rapidly consumed, doing little to alleviate the broader shortage. With over 18,000 grocery shops operating in the twin cities, the entire shipment was swiftly acquired by wholesale dealers, leaving virtually no supply available for retail consumers. As a result, many grocery outlets across Rawalpindi have exhausted their sugar stock. In the open market, sugar is currently being sold at Rs210 to Rs220 per kilogram, depending on the area. Despite the severity of the crisis, there remains no coordinated distribution mechanism between sugar mills, brokers, wholesalers, and retail merchants. High-level meetings held in Lahore and Islamabad on Monday yielded no actionable outcomes. The wholesale supply of sugar has been suspended for the past 13 days, causing stockouts at most retail stores. Those few shops still holding stock are reportedly selling at Rs210 per kg in central areas and up to Rs220 per kg in surrounding localities.
Express Tribune
21-07-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Sugar, power and patronage
In the digital age, there's no excuse for opacity as a transparent digital dashboard that tracks sugar from mills to wholesalers to retailers would make it harder for hoarders and profiteers to operate undetected. Photo: file Listen to article Pakistan's recurring sugar crises have become a telling reflection of how entrenched elite interests continue to manipulate the economy under the guise of policy. The latest surge in sugar prices, now hitting between Rs180 and Rs210 per kilogramme despite official claims of intervention, shows just how far removed state actions are from public welfare. What is unfolding isn't simply mismanagement. It's a system that protects the powerful and punishes the public. In July 2024, the federal government announced with much fanfare that it had reached an agreement with sugar mills to sell sugar to wholesalers at Rs165 per kg. This was framed as a breakthrough deal. But within days, the mills began violating the agreed price, resuming supply at Rs175, not Rs165. Even at inflated rates, sugar remains scarce in wholesale markets. The public, meanwhile, continues to pay well over Rs200 per kg in major cities like Karachi and Lahore. This was not just a policy failure. It was the illusion of reform – an orchestrated move to deflect public outrage without touching the roots of the problem. And at the root lies one uncomfortable fact: the sugar sector is not regulated by the government. It is effectively governed by itself. The concentration of political and economic power is stark. The Sharif family, which sits at the core of the current ruling coalition, owns major sugar mills. That the same actors who draft economic policies also control production and pricing of sugar reveals a conflict of interests so blatant that it no longer shocks. This overlap turns policy into patronage, and governance into a tool for private gain. Earlier this year, the government allowed sugar exports even as domestic stocks were under pressure. Predictably, local prices soared. Then came the tax-free import of 500,000 metric tons of sugar; a move that drew criticism from the International Monetary Fund, which questioned both its timing and its lack of transparency. No one has explained who received import licences, under what conditions, or how the decision was justified while government revenues continue to bleed. What the country witnessed was a two-way windfall: profits made on the export side and further gains through duty-free imports. Also there is an issue of price collapse when the shipments arrive in November; around the time sugar mills will be buying from growers, giving them leverage to manipulate buying prices. Throughout all this, regulators have remained silent. The Competition Commission has issued no inquiry into possible cartelisation. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has not released any audits on sugar mill compliance or tax contribution. No action has been taken against mills for openly breaching their agreement with the government. When institutions with legal mandates refuse to act, the market ceases to be a marketplace. It becomes a racket. This isn't new. But it's become more brazen. The previous PTI-led government also faced sugar price hike in 2020. However, its response was markedly different. Then prime minister Imran Khan ordered a wide-ranging inquiry, involving the FIA, SECP, FBR, and other agencies. The investigation looked into hoarding, tax fraud, price manipulation, and the misuse of subsidies. Importantly, it didn't shy away from naming allies or investigating politically connected individuals within PTI itself like Jahangir Tareen. The inquiry report was published in full. While it triggered backlash, it also marked a rare moment where the state asserted its regulatory role over an entrenched industrial elite. The investigation was abandoned and charges dropped when the PTI government was removed. What we are seeing now is the opposite. Instead of confronting the sugar mafia, the current government has aligned itself with it. Instead of enforcing transparency, it has shielded its members from scrutiny. At every step, decisions have served the interests of the few at the expense of many. This has real human costs. Sugar is not just a luxury good. It is a daily essential for households and a critical input for small businesses. Rising sugar prices drive up food inflation, burden already stretched family budgets, and hurt bakeries, tea stalls, and street vendors across the country. When a government facilitates price spiral through weak enforcement and preferential trade decisions, it doesn't just fail the economy. It abandons its moral claim to serve the people. To fix this, Pakistan must first acknowledge that the sugar crisis is not a temporary market blip. It is a symptom of a deeper structural disease: the collusion between political elites and monopolistic interests. The solution begins with cutting these links. Public officeholders, and their immediate families, must be barred from owning or profiting from industries they are in a position to regulate. This principle is basic in any functioning democracy. Without it, policy becomes an instrument of personal enrichment, not public service. Next, regulatory institutions must be depoliticised and empowered. Agencies like the CCP, FBR, and SECP should have independent boards, professional leadership, and the authority to publish findings without seeking ministerial approval. If sugar mills are in violation of tax laws or pricing agreements, the public has a right to know. Trade policy must also be demystified. Export and import decisions, especially for essentials like sugar, should not be made behind closed doors. They must be based on evidence, presented in parliament, and subjected to public scrutiny. Import licences should be granted through open bidding, and their recipients disclosed proactively. In the digital age, there's no excuse for opacity. A transparent digital dashboard that tracks sugar from mills to wholesalers to retailers would make it harder for hoarders and profiteers to operate undetected. It would also empower consumers and watchdog groups with real-time data. Finally, subsidies and tax exemptions must be subjected to rigorous review. No tax waiver or import concession should be granted without a clear, documented public interest rationale. Otherwise, they will continue to be used as vehicles for elite enrichment. The sugar industry has become a symbol of how deeply elite capture runs in Pakistan. But it can also become a turning point. If the state can confront the sugar mafia – not with hollow deals but with real accountability – it can begin to rebuild public trust and economic fairness. If it cannot, the crisis will return. Prices may dip briefly, but the profiteering will continue. This is not just about sugar. It is about who the system is designed to serve and who it leaves behind. The writer is a graduate of the University of British Columbia
Business Recorder
21-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Grave policy gaps in sugar sector
EDITORIAL: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan's (TCP) July 15 directive to slash its sugar import tender from 300,000 to just 50,000 metric tonnes is the latest twist in a saga that has completely exposed the confusion, lack of foresight and planning, and utter incompetence that has defined the government's handling of sugar export and import decisions in recent months. More tellingly, it reveals a policy regime designed to reward rent-seeking behaviour rather than protecting the public interest and market stability. As previously detailed in this space, the government, acting under the considerable, and dare one say, pernicious influence of powerful sugar barons, many of whom hold prominent positions within the political mileu, approved the export of roughly 765,000 metric tonnes of sugar during the last fiscal year. The decision was ostensibly based on assurances that only surplus stocks would be exported, ensuring that domestic prices would remain stable. However, what ensued was a shortage of sugar domestically and a sharp price surge, solely benefitting trade. To rein in soaring domestic prices, the government recently decided to allow the tax-concessions on import of sugar. The timing of the import decision, however, highlights a serious lack of planning and coordination among key stakeholders. By the time imported sugar enters the Pakistani market, the local crushing season will be in full swing, risking disruption to the domestic crop's market. Even more critically, importing such large quantities raises questions regarding the pressures that will be brought to bear on our precarious foreign exchange reserves. And given the tax waivers on these imports – wherein the FBR has exempted these from customs duty and reduced the sales tax rate from 18 percent to 0.25 percent – not only is this going to seriously burden the national exchequer, the country will also risk violating the $7 billion IMF programme that mandates it to not grant preferential tax treatments or engage in commodity purchases. While the IMF has made no official comment, there are reports of it privately taking strong exception to the government's haphazard moves that deviate from agreed reforms. It is this pressure, ostensibly, that compelled the TCP to considerably scale back its sugar import tender. The exorbitant prices Pakistani consumers have been forced to pay for sugar reveal not only the folly of the ill-conceived decision to export the commodity in the first place, it also points to deeper, systemic issues related to rampant price manipulation, hoarding, the entrenched political clout of sugar barons, their cartel-like behaviour and the collapse of regulatory oversight. Over the last seven months, there has been a consistent rise in prices of the commodity from Rs140 per kg to around Rs210 per kg even as its international price at current exchange rate levels hovers around the Rs104 per kg mark. Now, despite the government reaching an agreement with mill owners that fixed the wholesale price at Rs165 per kg, media reports indicate that many wholesale outlets have openly defied the agreement, demanding prices far beyond the official rate. As a result, consumers continue to face inflated retail prices that bear little relation to the official ex-factory cost. This encapsulates all that is wrong with the regime governing the trade of agricultural commodities: toothless oversight mechanisms, unchecked power and impunity of entrenched agro-industrial lobbies, and the complete marginalisation of the public interest. It must be noted that sugar is not a staple crop nor does it have substantive strategic value. Given this, it is unacceptable that successive governments have essentially subsidised its growth at the cost of more vital commodities. The government must put an end to the mollycoddling of the sugar sector and enforce discipline and transparency in its regulation. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
15-07-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Deal falls flat as sugar prices stay high
The sugar industry might have cut a deal with the government to sell the sweetener to the wholesalers at Rs165 per kg. However, the effect of this deal has not yet reached people, who are still compelled to buy the commodity at prices ranging from Rs180 to Rs210 per kg. Sugar, mostly extracted in Pakistan from sugarcane, has seen a steady increase in prices in the last 7 monthsfrom Rs140 per kg to Rs200 per kg. According to Wholesale Grocers Association Chairman Rauf Ibrahim, mills had stopped supply of sugar on Friday, causing a further hike in prices. The Ministry of National Food Security and Research and sugar mills reached an agreement on Monday, setting the ex-mill price of sugar at Rs165 per kg. "The mills resumed supply of sugar on Tuesday but they are not providing the produce at the agreed price and have set the ex-mill price at Rs175 per kg." He said under the Rs165 ex-mill formula, the wholesale price should be Rs168 and the retail price between Rs172 and Rs175. However, sugar is not available in the wholesale market even at Rs185. Retail Grocers Association Chairman Fareed Qureshi said the retail price of sugar in Karachi was Rs200 per kg on Tuesday. In Lahore, sugar is being sold at the discretion of shopkeepers rather than at government-fixed rates. The official retail price of sugar is Rs180 per kg, but it is being sold for between Rs185 and Rs210. Lahore Deputy Commissioner Syed Musa Raza has directed assistant commissioners and price control magistrates to take action against those selling sugar at inflated rates. However, such actions have proven ineffective. Meanwhile, a high-level meeting on sugar prices was held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain. The meeting was attended by the chairman and senior members of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) as well as senior officials of the ministry, according to a statement. Important decisions were made to stabilize sugar prices and provide immediate relief to the public. The association agreed to supply sugar at an ex-mill price of Rs165 per kg. The association appreciated the government's efforts and assured full cooperation in stabilizing prices. Officials stated that the impact of price reduction would be seen in the market within the next two to three days. On the occasion, Hussain said that the government is taking all possible steps to provide relief to the people. He made it clear that enforcement of the fixed retail price would be ensured and that hoarding or profiteering would not be tolerated under any circumstances. "A comprehensive strategy has been prepared to ensure uninterrupted supply of sugar, and that the ministry remains in constant contact with the sugar industry to safeguard public interest at all costs," the minister said. Interestingly, the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has issued a revised tender stating that, for now, only 50,000 metric tons of sugar will be imported. Bids have been invited until July 22 under this revised tender. Earlier, a tender for 300,000 metric tons was issued with a bid deadline of July 18.
