Govt fails to control sugar prices

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

ISLAMABAD - The government seems to have failed to control the soaring sugar prices in the country, as it increased by 11 percent in the open market only in a one-month period.
“Sugar prices were around Rs 73 per kg in August had enhanced to Rs 82 per kg in the last month of September, which reflects that prices went up by eleven percent in the one-month period”, revealed official figures.
However, the situation is totally different in the markets than the official figures as the prices are still fluctuating around Rs 85 per kg.
On the other hand, the government is taking long-term measures to control the sugar prices instead of finding short-term solution to the problem.
“The government has recently abolished the 25 percent Regulatory Duty on raw sugar besides allowing the private sector to import it in order to reduce the commodity prices in the local market”, said an official of the Ministry of Industries and Production while talking to TheNation.
He was of the view that sugar millers are behind the commodity’s high prices in the country, as we are taking timely decisions to control the prices, he further added.
It is worth mentioning here that the government is all set to increase the woes of the masses by enhancing the commodity’s price at the state-run stores. The government is seriously contemplating to increase the sugar prices at Utility Stores Corporation (USC) outlets by Rs 10 per kg in next few days. With this move, the commodity’s price would soar to Rs 65 per kg from existing Rs 55 per kg.
Meanwhile, sugar millers believed that the commodity’s prices could be controlled, if the government implements its decision properly.
“The government could increase the domestic sugar stock by implementing its own decision of imposing ban on gur export to other countries, as this could reduce its prices”, Iskandar Khan, Chairman Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, said this while talking to this scribe.