KARACHI: Sugar prices are continuing to rise, with many retailers charging Rs210-215 per kg, following a steady increase in wholesale rates amid the ongoing sugarcane crushing season.

The wholesale markets offer two types of sugar: imported superfine (powdered form) at Rs180 per kg, and locally produced thick-crystal sweetener at Rs204 per kg (or Rs10,200 per 50kg bag).

According to the weekly data of the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), the price of sweetener in Karachi for the week ending Nov 20 was Rs195-200 per kg, up from Rs185-195 per kg on Nov 13.

Surprisingly, the wholesale and retail rates issued by the Commissioner Karachi on Sept 17 remain unchanged at Rs174 and Rs177 per kg, but unfortunately, these rates exist only on paper.

Karachi Wholesalers Grocers Association (KWGA) Chairman Rauf Ibrahim claimed that sugar was being retailed at Rs210-215 per kg. He expressed surprise that prices were creeping up amid the ongoing sugarcane crushing season, yet millers were not making deliveries.

Retail prices surge to Rs215 per kg

On the contrary, a spokesperson for the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) attributed the price hike to the closure of FBR’s sales track portal, restriction on inter-provincial movement and the sale of sugar through government-appointed dealers.

In a statement, he said the sugar industry had been warning the government that the closure of FBR sales portals would cause a supply shortfall, leading to higher prices.

The government, he added, continued to pressure millers to prioritise the sale of unnecessary and substandard imported sugar by restricting local sugar from reaching markets, thereby driving prices higher.

The spokesperson said the FBR sales-tracking portals are also closed in Sindh, so that imported sugar at Karachi Port could be sold first.

Ever since the government has been imposing curbs on the sugar industry, the supply of the commodity in the market has started decreasing, for which the industry is neither a beneficiary nor responsible, he stressed.

In Punjab, the district administration continued to force mills to sell sugar only to government-designated dealers, who sell it at higher rates in the markets.

The crushing season has begun at sugar mills across the country, and prices are likely to normalise with the arrival of new stocks in the markets. The PSMA has urged the government to lift unconstitutional and illegal restrictions on inter-provincial movement so that the commodity can reach every nook and corner of the country and is available at similar prices in all provinces, the spokesperson said.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2025