KARACHI, April 6: The upward price trend in some pulses and sugar continues unabated as retailers are charging over Rs70 per kg for mash and moong besides, demanding Rs40 for sugar against Rs38 per kg available on April 1.

Moong and mash were selling at Rs62 and Rs68 per kg, respectively, at retail on April 1. “The wholesalers are now claiming Rs68 per kg for both the commodities,” General Secretary Karachi Wholesale Grocers Group (KWGG) Farid Qureishi said.

He attributed the persistent increase in prices of moong and mash to export of these items to India, which is still continuing.

He said that the gram pulse wholesale rate was also on the rise and the wholesalers now quote its price at Rs34 per kg which was actually the retail rate prevailing on April 1. However, its price at the retail stage is still Rs34, but may come under pressure in case retailers lift fresh stocks from the wholesale market at higher rates.

Farid said that retail price of sugar has surged to Rs40 from Rs38 per kg earlier despite various meetings in Islamabad between the stakeholders and the traders. Sugar is now available at Rs37.50 per kg at the wholesale.

Advisor to Karachi Wholesale Grocers Association (KWGA), Anis Majeed, admitted that the wholesale rates of mash and moong had surged to Rs68 per kg at wholesale. He, however, did not agree that these two commodities were still being exported to India. He added that these items were exported to India few months back but in very little quantities.

He said that the wholesale market was short of mash but the Burmese mash (at the rate hovering between $700-750 per ton) is expected to land in Karachi next month to help stabilize the prices. However, the landed cost of imported mash would come around Rs60 per kg.

Anis said that mash was produced in very little quantity in Pakistan so its consumption depends mainly on imports. Currently, India is also buying mash from Burma, where rates have flared up. This is an all-time high rate of Mash in Pakistan.

Similarly, certain importers have booked some quantity of moong from Australia and Burma at the rate of $700-750 per ton. He said the local crop size has been 90,000 tons this year as against 130,000-135,000 tons last year. He added that about 5,000-7,000 tons of moong had been exported to India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka last year.

The short size of gram pulse crop this year, ranging between 350,000-400,000 tons, has already started making impact in the market, resulting in price hike. Last year, the country had over one million tons of local production in which 700,000 tons were consumed and 125,000-150,000 tons were exported to India. The country has currently 100,000-150,000 tons carryover stocks, he said.

He added that the traders might have to import 100,000-150,000 tons of gram in the next few months in order to bring stability in local rates.