Vice -Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said Friday that the Government was committed to regulating sugar prices and monitoring its supply to guarantee market stability, state -owned. Pakistan radio reported.
Contrary to the rates announced by the Prime Minister, as well as several government attempts to maintain retail sales to RS130 per kilogram, sugar prices in the markets continue to increase above RS180 per kg in several markets throughout the country.
Previously, the Deputy Prime Minister had warned that retail prices should not exceed RS164.
However, despite Dar’s warning, consumers continued to pay high prices for sugar, with the average national sugar price in several cities around RS164-180 per kg.
While chairing a meeting in Islamabad, he expressed his resolution on the sugar crisis prevailing in the country, according to the report.
During the meeting, he reviewed compliance with the agreement of the committee that was previously reached, expressing his “satisfaction with the downward trend in sugar prices,” according to Pak radio.
Dar ordered the Sugar de Pakistan Sugar Association (PSMA) to guarantee full fulfillment of the agreement of retail prices of sugar in or less than RS164 per kg throughout the country.
It is forecast that sugar consumption will increase slightly to 6.7 million tons, since it has grown continuously due to population growth and demand for the food processing sector.
During the last season, Pakistan produced more than 6.84 million tons of sugar, which is expected to increase in 2024-25.
Given this alleged massive syphoning of consumers, the Pakistan Competition Commission (PCCH) had declared that it was closely monitoring the sugar crisis in progress and warned that strict application and policy actions will be taken if anti -competitive activities are found.
The PCCH has been working to stop the cartelization in the sugar industry, promoting fair competition and protecting consumers.
The PCCH investigation launched in 2020 revealed that the sugar factories were prima facie dedicated to pricing and supply control through coordinated actions provided by the PSMA.
As part of the investigation, the PCCH also made raids and imposed RS44 billion in penalties in sugar factories and the PSMA in August 2021, one of the highest fines in its history.
