Sugar crisis in Pakistan worsens as wholesale markets 'shut down'

ISLAMABAD: The President of the All-Pakistan Traders Association (APTA), Ajmal Baloch, has strongly criticised what he called the government’s failure to shut down of wholesale market in Pakistan, warning that markets in Islamabad will remain indefinitely closed due to supply shortages and pricing disputes, ARY News.

Speaking to the media, Ajmal Baloch stated that the logic is not understandable, given that the price is being purchased at high rates and sold at a loss. A pricing model he described as “illogical and unsustainable.”

Ajmal Baloch asked officials to immediately issue sugar stocks to retail and wholesale markets, warning that if the situation remains the same, traders will be forced to shut down grocery stores and wholesale hubs across the country.

Earlier this month, Ajmal Baloch exposed that most sugar mills in Central Punjab had run out of their stock, while mills in South Punjab had suspended sugar supply for four consecutive days, causing the sugar crisis in Pakistan. He emphasised that 70 percent of mills in Central Punjab were non-operational due to exhausted reserves.

Ajmal Baloch also condemned the crackdown of the government on retailers, noting that stores that don’t have sugar are being closed, which he called unfair. “Arresting grocery store owners won’t fix the problem,” he said. “We need to talk to the people involved to solve this issue.”

Experts say the recent sugar shortage is due to problems like weak rules and the strong influence of sugar mill owners in politics.

Also, climate issues have caused the expected sugar production to drop from 7 million to 5.8 million metric tons this year.

Read More: Weekly inflation rises amid surge in sugar, gas prices

Earlier, Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), increased by 2.3 per cent year-on-year during the week ending August 21, mainly due to higher prices of sugar and gas, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Friday.

This marks the fifth consecutive weekly rise in SPI-based inflation.