Traders announce halting sugar sales over govt failure
The Karyana Merchant Association Punjab has strongly condemned the continued and devastating rise in sugar prices, attributing the crisis to the government's complete failure to intervene.
In response, the association has announced a province-wide halt in sugar sales at all grocery stores and has appealed to the public across the country to boycott sugar and instead use alternatives such as jaggery (gur) and unrefined sugar (shakkar).
The association described the control of sugar prices as "extremely difficult," noting that in the open market, sugar prices have surged to Rs190 per kg in urban areas and up to Rs200 per kg in suburban and rural regions.
According to Sheikh Rizwan Shaukat, the central general secretary of the Karyana Merchant Association, and Saleem Pervaiz Butt, the president of the Rawalpindi Division, both the federal and Punjab governments have proven utterly powerless and ineffective in curbing sugar prices.
Wholesale sugar prices are increasing daily by Rs100 to Rs300 per bag. They alleged that a powerful sugar mafia is exploiting the nation while small grocery shop owners are being unfairly targeted through fines and legal action.
They further criticised the inconsistent sugar policies — allowing export at one time and import at another — as mechanisms for profiteering. Despite repeated meetings with senior officials and ministers over the past two months to alert them to the exploitation occurring in the name of sugar, the authorities have failed to take any effective action.
Now, the association says, they are left with no other option but to halt sugar sales altogether to avoid heavy fines, penalties, and arrests.
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Express Tribune
11 hours ago
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Traders announce halting sugar sales over govt failure
The Karyana Merchant Association Punjab has strongly condemned the continued and devastating rise in sugar prices, attributing the crisis to the government's complete failure to intervene. In response, the association has announced a province-wide halt in sugar sales at all grocery stores and has appealed to the public across the country to boycott sugar and instead use alternatives such as jaggery (gur) and unrefined sugar (shakkar). The association described the control of sugar prices as "extremely difficult," noting that in the open market, sugar prices have surged to Rs190 per kg in urban areas and up to Rs200 per kg in suburban and rural regions. According to Sheikh Rizwan Shaukat, the central general secretary of the Karyana Merchant Association, and Saleem Pervaiz Butt, the president of the Rawalpindi Division, both the federal and Punjab governments have proven utterly powerless and ineffective in curbing sugar prices. Wholesale sugar prices are increasing daily by Rs100 to Rs300 per bag. They alleged that a powerful sugar mafia is exploiting the nation while small grocery shop owners are being unfairly targeted through fines and legal action. They further criticised the inconsistent sugar policies — allowing export at one time and import at another — as mechanisms for profiteering. Despite repeated meetings with senior officials and ministers over the past two months to alert them to the exploitation occurring in the name of sugar, the authorities have failed to take any effective action. Now, the association says, they are left with no other option but to halt sugar sales altogether to avoid heavy fines, penalties, and arrests.
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Listen to article The sweetener has left sourness with the customers. The incongruous decision of the federal government to export sugar and then import it back is being pondered by the hapless nation with their jaws dropped. Either the authorities are too naïve to understand the mechanics of basic economics, or they are obsessed with vested interests. This is not the first time that a sugar scam is on the cards. Rather, it has become a modus operandi of successive governments to appease the sugar mafia — especially the mill owners and those who share the booty in the ruling clique — by playing with the support price of the sugarcane crop, then manipulating the raw and processed cost of sugar, and finally throwing it to the wolves at the altar of national interests. This time again, the government has decided to import 750,000 metric tonnes of sugar that it had itself sold in the international market under a mysterious calculus. The product was sold at a price tag of Rs114 billion, and no one is sure what amount of foreign exchange it will incur to bring it back home. Such lopsided decisions are a crime, per se, and must warrant retribution. Surprisingly, the swift manner in which the proposition and the entire decision-making process receive prompt passage from all stakeholders is enough to raise eyebrows, and warrants a national debate and inquiry. As far as the commoner is concerned, it leads to inflation, apart from torpedoing the domestic supply chain. This gimmick has led to a rise in sugar prices, and now the commodity is being sold at Rs190 per kilogram — a staggering Rs50 higher than the pre-export price. Yet the Ministry of National Food Security has the audacity to claim that there are sufficient stocks, and that imports were meant to lower prices! This annually enacted swindle, meant to hoodwink the nation, is a curse. While the country has a total annual consumption of 6.4 million tonnes, it must ensure that appropriate stocks are guaranteed before any ambitious decision to export is taken — with due public endorsement. A valve to involve the consumers is indispensable to put a stop to such scams happening right under the official eyes and ears.
