KARACHI, Sept 7: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) will release 60,000 tons of sugar at concessional rate in the local market to reduce prices and ensure smooth supply ahead of Ramazan.

Director TCP Abdul Malik said here on Thursday that 12 tons of sugar will be sold to each interested buyer at a fixed rate of Rs30,500 per ton.

“These will be preferably large retailers or small wholesalers so that this sugar should reach the market all over the country,” he added.

He said the corporation had purposely reduced the selling limit per person to ensure that a large number of wholesalers and retailers should get the sugar at concessional rates all over the country and they sell it at reduced rates to the consumers.

The TCP official said in the up-country the corporation will utilise the network of Utility Stores Corporation for selling sugar to the wholesalers and retailers to cover a wide area.

The interested persons will need to submit applications for the purchase with the TCP from September 8 to 15.

He said last year the corporation had also released sufficient sugar stocks in the market to stabilise prices before the advent of Ramazan.

He pointed out that the TCP had contracted for one million tons of sugar during 2005-06 from different sources. Of these 792,082 tons of imported sugar has arrived in the country, while the remaining quantity will reach Karachi by end of October.

Similarly, TCP has also been supplying 32,000 tons of sugar per month to Utility Stores Corporation (USC). It is sold at Rs27.50 per kg to the consumers at its outlets all over Pakistan.

He said that the TCP had supplied 325,000 tons of sugar to the USC during 2005-06.

“Currently, we have a stock of about 591,701 tons of sugar, which is more than sufficient to meet the demand during the month of Ramazan and also for Eid season,” he said.

He pointed out that sugar prices had already started declining in the market and will further decline in the near future with the release of more sugar in the market. —APP