KARACHI: Wholesale sugar rates are now on a downward trajectory as cane crushing in Punjab and Sindh mills gains momentum.

Traders said that wholesale rates in Karachi dropped to Rs160 per kg from Rs190-200 before sugarcane crushing. In Punjab, the rate eased to Rs155 while the commodity was being retailed at Rs175 per kg in some cities, they claimed.

However, retailers in Karachi are not ready to acknowledge the declining trend in sugar prices, as they continue to charge Rs190-210 per kg across various areas. They claimed that they had procured the sweetener at higher rates, and it may take time to pass on the benefit of the wholesale rate drop to the end users.

Some retailers claim that wholesalers were inflating rates by adding at least Rs10 per kg after the commodity reached the wholesale markets. They indicated that wholesale prices in Karachi range from Rs177 to Rs180 per kg.

As per the weekly data of the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), the national average price of sugar for the week ending Dec 4 fell to Rs170-212 per kg, versus Rs176-229 for the week ending Nov 13.

Karachi Wholesalers Grocers Association (KWGA) Chairman Rauf Ibrahim said that wholesale rates are likely to decline further as sugarcane crushing is set to enter full swing. “If all goes well, consumers may see sugar rates at Rs100 per kg during Ramazan,” he hoped.

However, he expressed surprise that there was no need to import sugar, given that crushing had to start in October/November.

He claimed that the government has imported 320,000 tonnes from September to date, while the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) holds stocks of 150,000 tonnes of imported sweetener.

As per data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), imports of sugar during July-October FY26 surged to 231,290 tonnes ($131m) compared to 1,460 tonnes ($1.45m) in the same period last fiscal year. The average per-tonne price of imported sugar during July-October FY26 stood at $567, but it has now fallen to $450 per tonne.

In FY25, Pakistan exported 765,734 tonnes of sugar worth $411m, a significant increase from the 33,101 tonnes valued at $21m exported in FY24. However, the country then decided to import sugar to address a demand-supply gap. The average value per tonne of sugar exported in FY25 was $537, down from $636 in FY24.

Mr Rauf said that the sugarcane crop this year is 20pc higher than last year.

Pakistan consumes 550,000 tonnes of sugar per month.

A spokesman for the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), speaking from Lahore, said the sugarcane crop is much better than last year and that almost all the mills are engaged in cane crushing. Last year, 77 mills operated out of 89 mills across the nation.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2025