ISLAMABAD, July 29: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will chair a high-level meeting early next week to identify the factors hindering the desired decrease in sugar price at the retail level despite its supply through utility stores network and massive imports, it is learnt.

The meeting will review sugar stocks availability in both private and public sectors and will announce a distribution policy for the sugar stocks lying with the Trading Corporation of Pakistan.

According to the official statistics available with Dawn, around 0.892 million tons imported sugar was available with the TCP at various stages, followed by 0.165 million tons with the private sector, 100,000 tons in the retail market and 1.157 million tons with sugar mills till June 30, 2006.

The question arises if the TCP landing cost of sugar is Rs34 per kg in Karachi and Rs36 in Lahore then how one could you expect the sugar price at the retail level would come down. However, the cost of sugar produced by the millers comes to Rs29 per kg and after payment of sales tax it stands at Rs33.35.

Sources said the millers were selling their sugar to wholesalers at par with the imported sugar, as a result of which the price was not coming down. Moreover, the millers have also been given a window for evading sales tax by the government, as more of the sugar millers would show most of its sale only to utility stores which was exempted from sales tax.

The sources said the meeting would also review the sugar consumption in the next three months till the arrival of the new crop. It is estimated that the consumption of sugar from July 1, 2006 to November 30, 2006 would be 1.485 million tons. The net available carryover stock of sugar would be only 830,021 tons.

According to the sources, the huge carryover stocks with the millers might result in a delay in crushing which would indirectly affect the wheat production, as land would not be ready for the sowing of the new crop.