Islamabad : Millers deny sugar shortage, admit artificial price hike in open market
The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (Punjab Zone) refuted sugar shortage claims, attributing price hikes to hoarders and profiteers. The industry agreed with the government to stabilize prices until April 19 and offer discounted sugar at Rs130/kg for Ramadan. PSMA urged a two-tier pricing system to subsidize sugar for low-income households.
ISLAMABAD – A Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (Punjab Zone) spokesperson has said that artificial price hike of sugar sponsored by Satta Mafia, profiteers and hoarders has successfully been reversed after fixing of a benchmark of ex-mill and retail sugar prices by the government.
In a statement, the spokesperson said that a General Body meeting of PSMA was held here on Tuesday which categorically ruled out any shortage of sugar in the country, saying stocks are ample to satiate consumers’ needs. He said that Karyana Merchants, Satta Mafia and hoarders are spreading baseless rumours of sugar price hike, causing hike in sugar rates. The spokesperson added that sugar prices have come down to the benchmark set by the government. These prices were agreed with the government by the sugar industry in the best interest of consumers for a month till April 19 while at the same time, the sugar industry has made available discounted sugar at Rs130 per kg for poor masses at 274 established stalls during the holy month of Ramazan. Reports of price hike due to exports of the commodity are completely fabricated and baseless. The sugar industry has urged the government to adopt two-tier mechanism for determining separate sugar prices as 80 percent sugar is consumed by the industrial/commercial sector and 20 percent is consumed by the domestic consumers. The government should devise a policy mechanism to provide subsidised sugar from this 20 percent to the deserving people as are registered in the Benazir Income Support Programme or through some other policy intervention.
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Source : The Nation
