KARACHI: Hoarding, smuggling and rupee depreciation continued to bring more misery for the consumers in the shape of further increases in sugar, pulses and ghee/cooking oil prices.

Wholesale sugar rates rose to Rs172 per kg from Rs164-165 two days back. Some retailers had pushed up the rates to Rs185.

While some online retailers were seen charging Rs99 for 500 grams, Rs905 for five-kg and Rs375 for two-kg packets.

Sugar prices had not seen any decline or stability despite the caretaker government’s directions to the relevant agencies to check the hoarding and smuggling of sugar while an export ban had already been in effect since Aug 10.

Rising dollar to further push up ghee, cooking oil prices

“No writ of the caretaker government exists as sugar prices have gone up by Rs28 per kg since the day it took over despite the ECC directions to check smuggling and hoarding,” Karachi Wholesalers Grocers Association (KWGA) Chairman Rauf Ibrahim said.

The market is abuzz with reports that the government has decided to allow the import of sugar to curb skyrocketing prices. He thinks the import option looks unfeasible as the country has sugar stocks of over two million tonnes.

He said law enforcement agencies should initiate a hard crackdown on the hoarders and speculators to help bring down sugar prices.

“It has never happened in the country that sugar rates have been crawling up after every few hours in a single day due to lack of government’s interest to control prices,” Rauf said, urging the government to also check the stocks of sugar mills, local market sale records and their export figures.

Pulses get costlier

In imported pulses, he claimed that the market has seen an average Rs20 per kg rise in wholesale prices given the persistent decline in the rupee value against the dollar and consumers have started feeling its pinch.

A retailer said the rate of masoor has risen to Rs360 per kg from Rs320 while Arhar is now tagged at Rs600 as compared to Rs550 per kg. He added that so far no change was seen in retail rates of moong and gram pulse at Rs320 and Rs280 per kg despite some rise in wholesale rates.

Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association former chairman Sheikh Amjad Rasheed said that two rates of oil/ghee exist in the markets as loose packers suddenly push up the ghee/cooking oil rates following a jump in palm oil rates, while branded packers take time of at least 15-20 days to pass on the impact to the consumers.

“I anticipate a jump of at least Rs25 per litre/kg in cooking oil and ghee after an increase in local palm oil prices to Rs15,300 per maund from Rs1,3000-13,600 in the last 15 days as a result of rising dollar value,” he said.

Another producer said that consumers may have to brave at least 10pc price rise in ghee/cooking oil due to an unrelenting rise in the dollar rate.

The country’s normal monthly consumption of palm oil is 200,000 tonnes but commercial importers have bought excessive quantities of around 450,000-500,000 tonnes awaiting clearance at the port.

Mr Amjad said he had asked the State Bank to check this rising opening of LCs by the commercial importers.

He said no change in the economic situation has been witnessed from former finance minister Ishaq Dar to the caretaker government as the dollar crisis has become more alarming now due to its illegal outflow to Afghanistan, no control in interbank and open market rates and the arrival of Iranian goods from informal channels.

The country’s palm oil imports rose to three million tonnes ($3.6 billion) in FY23 from 2.8m tonnes ($3.549bn) in FY22. The average per tonne price in FY23 stood at $1,187 as compared to $1,256.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2023