Sugar price hits Rs160/kg in Karachi retail market

KARACHI: Sugar price hit Rs160 per kg in Karachi’s retail market, promoting the Jodia Wholesale Market traders to seek ban on the commodity’s export.

According to Wholesale Grocers Association Chairman Rauf Ibrahim, sugar prices in the wholesale market have climbed to Rs150 per kg, while advance deals for March have reached Rs152/kg.

Traders claim that the hoarding mafia is active, and with Ramazan approaching, there is a serious risk of further price hikes. Pakistan’s monthly sugar consumption stands at 550,000 tons, but during Ramazan, it jumps to 1 million tons.

Since December, sugar prices have increased by Rs26 per kg, and last year, profiteers pushed rates up to Rs180 per kg. Even at utility stores, sugar prices have risen by Rs5, to reach Rs145 per kg.

Traders warn that if the government does not take immediate action, sugar prices may spiral further during Ramazan.

Sugar price spiked to Rs160 per kg in retail markets across Pakistan, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) report said.

The official data shows people of Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi are buying expensive sugar in Pakistan with the cost of Rs160 per kg.

The sugar is sold at Rs155 per kg in Gujranwala, Sialkot, Khuzdar and Quetta, while the commodity’s per kg rate is Rs150 in Faisalabad, Sargodha, Multan and Larkana.

In Rawalpindi and Lahore, the commodity is sold at Rs150 per kg, while in Sargodha, Multan and Gujranwala, the sugar per kg rate is Rs145.

In Bannu and Quetta the per kg sugar price is Rs150, while in Hyderabad Rs148 per kg and in Bahawalpur and Sukkur, the sugar price is Rs145 per kg.