Sugar price surges to Rs170 per kg

The retail price of sugar has surged to Rs170 per kg in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad due to a rise in wholesale rates amid strong demand in Ramazan. Retailers in Karachi feared that the price may hit Rs200 if a bullish trend persists in the wholesale market. However, wholesalers blame millers for increasing the rates. In a week, the wholesale rate swelled by Rs15 to Rs155 per kg in Karachi. Earlier in February, the average national price of sugar was Rs145-160 per kg. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (Punjab Zone) spokesman has claimed that there has been no abnormal increase in the ex-mill price as it fluctuates due to demand and supply factors. Usually, the sugar industry is blamed for the price hike. While the ground reality is that as soon as the sugar sacks leave the mill premises, it will become the game of the wholesalers and retailers, the spokesman explained. He stated that speculators, profiteers, and hoarders are manipulating market prices by spreading rumours and shifting all the blame to the sugar industry. “This satta mafia has different social media groups that speculate on prices,” he alleged.