ECC decides banning sugar exports

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet has decided to impose a ban on sugar exports, ARY News reported on Monday.

Caretaker Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar chaired the session of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC).

The committee decided to ban sugar exports. Prior to this decision, the ECC approved the summary to export 32,000 metric tonnes of sugar in June.

Sources told ARY News that the decision was taken in view of rising prices of sugar in the country.

Sugar prices spiked to a record high of up to Rs170 per kg in retail markets of Balochistan last week.

The sugar that was earlier being sold at Rs145 suddenly recorded a Rs25 per kg rise in Balochistan.

According to dealers, the price of the commodity increased after the supply of sugar got suspended as vehicles got stuck on the national highways after the suspension of permits.

The sudden rise in sugar prices has added to the misery of the people who are already bearing the brunt of inflation.

Meanwhile, the short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), continues to rise with a year-on-year increase of 27.57 per cent for the week ending on Aug 17, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) official data showed.

On a week-on-week basis, the short-term inflation, rose 0.78pc, and shows no signs of slowing down, causing concern for economists and consumers alike.