PESHAWAR, Feb 28: Under the directives of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) has doubled the supply of sugar in its stores to control its price. “The supply of sugar to mobile points has been doubled to avoid any possibility of shortage,” Regional Manager USC Jehanzeb Khan told reporters here on Tuesday.

The corporation, he said, was planning to open more selling points in the province.

While talking to a group of journalists in his office inside the Hayatabad Industrial Estate, he said the availability of sugar at subsidized rates has averted the sugar crisis and brought stability in the price of the commodity at the level of the retail market in the country.

The official said the large-scale availability of the commodity in the stores have brought down prices of sugar by Rs5 to Rs7 in the retail market. The prices of sugar have shot up to Rs45 per kilogram in the retail market. However, now it had been brought down to Rs38 in the market.

The regional manager said Peshawar has 23 stores and 42 selling points which are effectively fulfilling the needs of customers. Replying to a question, he said 26,000 packets of sugar weighing 52,000 kg were being sold in Peshawar daily and with the increase in the supply their share would also be raised.

With the announcement of increasing the sugar supply of utility stores to 30,000 metric tons the share of the NWFP would increase to about 2,200 metric tons, he added. He dispelled the impression of the conditionality of purchasing other items on consumers along with the sugar.

The quality of the commodities available at utility stores is better than those available in the market, he concluded.—APP