ISLAMABAD: As the cane crushing has commenced in Sindh and Punjab, the prices of refined sugar have started to decline sharply by around 20 per cent at the retail markets.

Even the prime minister has expressed contentment over the drop of Rs20 per kg in the sugar prices.

In his tweet the PM has taken credit of government’s effective intervention due to the timely start of crushing season and distribution of imported sugar.

He said that the efforts of the government has led to the drop of Rs20 per kg in ex-mill price of sugar, and added, “I have asked the provinces to ensure fair and swift payments of sugarcane to the farmers.”

The impact of fresh and imported sugar stocks was visible at the wholesale and the retail markets across the country.

“The average retail rate was Rs85 per kg on Wednesday compared to Rs100 a few days back,” said Fareed Qureshi, Chairman Karachi Retail Grocers Group, adding, “This is because the wholesale market is down, and we expect that the wholesale rate will be between Rs78 and Rs75 during this week.”

Mr Qureshi has projected that the impact of imports and fresh sugar from the mills the rates will further decline next week.

Similar decline was reported from the retail markets of Lahore and Peshawar but the impact of higher stock positions is likely to visible in Islamabad and other areas of northern Punjab in coming days as it was the non-sugar producing area.

At the same time a trader in Rawalpindi’s Ganj Mandi, the main wholesale market that supplies commodities to most of northern Punjab, Azad Kashmir and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said that not only the sugar supplies were improving but the rates were also declining.

“The competition will be between the imported and locally produced sugar in coming days as local one is sweeter,” the trader said, who did not want to be named.

He, however, added that one of the reasons for surge in sugar prices in recent past was the “panic buying’ triggered by various reports at media.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association Chairman Iskendar Khan lauded the federal and the provincial governments for timely start of cane crushing at around Rs200 per 40 kg.

“Certain steps taken by the authorities to cut-off the middle men who used to buy sugarcane from farmers was a positive step that has helped maintain cane prices for the mills,” Mr Khan remarked, adding that in the next step, the government has to make strict control over smuggling of sugar and gur (jaggery) to Afghanistan and beyond, which will ensure price stability due to adequate supplies.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2020