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Retailers have raised the price of sugar to as high as Rs180 per kilogram, attributing this surge to increasing wholesale rates, even as the Deputy Prime Minister announced a fixed retail price of Rs164 per kilogram.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), sugar prices currently average Rs170.41 per kilogram nationwide, despite a minor decrease of Rs1.49 per kilogram in the past week. However, in major cities like Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar, sugar continues to sell at Rs180 per kilogram, exceeding the government’s fixed price.
Last month, the national average sugar price ranged between Rs145 and Rs160 per kilogram. Prices began to rise in the weeks leading up to Ramadan and have continued climbing during the holy month. Earlier this year, in January, sugar was priced between Rs130 and Rs150 per kilogram.
On Wednesday, the government set the retail price of sugar at Rs164 per kilogram, which is 13% higher than the rate established when 600,000 metric tons of sugar were approved for export. This decision has reportedly allowed millers to benefit from increased revenues in both domestic and international markets.
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The decision came from a 10-member committee led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar. After discussions with the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), often accused of operating as a cartel by the nation’s antitrust authority, the committee also set the ex-factory sugar price at Rs159 per kilogram—a 13.5% increase compared to the previous cap.
