The Wholesale Grocers Association has described the current sugar price surge in Pakistan as an “artificial crisis”, contending that the spike is not due to shortage but deliberate manipulation.
According to the association’s chairman, only about 10 % of the country’s sugar mills have begun crushing the cane crop, despite a 25 % increase in production. The remaining 90 % have delayed operations, enabling prices to climb.
In Karachi, ex-mill sugar prices rose from Rs 175 to Rs 185 per kilogram, wholesale rates jumped to Rs 187 and retail prices have crossed Rs 200/kg. Regions like Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are seeing rates as high as Rs 200-210/kg.
The association claims that if crushing started on time and imports were fully utilised, the retail price could drop to around Rs 120/kg, offering relief to consumers.
They have urged the government to take strict action against hoarding, cartelisation and the mills delaying crushing—arguing that the crisis is “systematically engineered”.
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