KARACHI, Nov 8: Sugar price surged to Rs120 a kilogram in most markets of the city on Monday amid rising wholesale rates, massive hoarding and uncertainty about the arrival of fresh sugar from the mills.

Retailers in various areas were telling the consumers that the sweetener was not available with them, but they were actually waiting for the fresh arrival from the wholesale market in the evening when they cashed in on the new wholesale rates.

Retailers and wholesalers were quoting different wholesale rates on Monday ranging from Rs95 to Rs105 a kilo.

Some retailers claimed that they had purchased sugar at Rs100 per kg and they would sell it at Rs105 per kg.

Many retailers were buying sugar from the wholesale market as per the daily requirement owing to uncertain situation.

Sugar rate fluctuated many times in daily trading. Retailers said that in the morning session it had peaked at Rs105 per kg in the wholesale market and after various corrections it settled at Rs100 per kg.

Similarly, the ex-mill rate, after hitting Rs93.50 per kg, fell to Rs91.50 per kg in the afternoon. One wholesaler said that the rate had fallen to Rs92.50 in the afternoon from Rs95 per kg in the morning session.

On Friday, sugar was available at Rs90-92 per kg in many markets while some retailers were charging Rs95 per kg. On Oct 31, the retail rate of sugar was Rs85-86 while the wholesale rate was Rs83-84 per kg.

In the last few days when fresh locally produced sugar started trickling into the market after the start of sugarcane crushing by the millers, the stakeholders, retailers and wholesalers had been busy taking advantage of sugar hoarding. They are taking risk by fixing the rate on their own in view of untimely arrival of the TCP sugar in the markets.

Many retailers were selling imported sugar, though mixed with the locally produced commodity. Consumers prefer local sugar, which has big granule, to the finely ground imported sugar.

In the absence of any government monitoring of these players and their stocks at their warehouses, shrewd market players are set to earn bigger profits ahead of Eidul Azha, not being satisfied with profits they earned in the last few months.

Market sources said that sugar price may remain under pressure till Eid as many transporters were refusing to lift sugar from the mills since they were busy transporting sacrificial animals to various destinations. Besides, in case the locally produced commodity arrives in bulk, sugar price may ease after Eid.

The economic coordination committee (ECC) of the cabinet had on Nov 4 set up a committee comprising representatives of three ministries and provinces to examine within three days as to why sugar price had crossed the Rs95 a kilo rate despite the fact that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan is importing sugar at Rs56 per kg.

Since Nov 4, the rate of sugar in the markets has been continuously going up despite selling of the commodity by the TCP through tender at Rs70 per kg.

Market players said that the TCP sugar had arrived in three different rates in the last few days and practically the rate of TCP sugar had been surging. They said there should be uniformity in the rates. Only strong parties having enough liquidity are lifting the TCP sugar through tenders.