Government cut sugar price by Rs10 at Utility Stores

Federal government has reduced white refined sugar price by Rs10 per kilogram at utility stores, which is now available at Rs42 per kilogram. After this announcement, sweetener price in Punjab’s largest wholesale market, Akbari Mandi, has witnessed a downward trend.
Speaking to Profit, sugar dealers disclosed that due to reduction in sugar price at utility stores, wholesalers had started to offload their stocks. They revealed that just after the announcement by federal government sugar prices in the Akbari Mandi dropped by Rs1.25 per kilogram.
They pointed out that a 50-kilogram sugar sack was being quoted at Rs2,562 ex-mill on Wednesday evening. But after the announcement of price reduction at utility stores, it touched Rs2,500 per bag or Rs50 per kilogram, while the commodity was being sold at Rs51 to Rs52 per kilogram at wholesale level.
Speaking to Profit, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association President Javed kayani said that the country was expecting a bumper sugarcane crop of some 60 million tons, of which some 4.7 million tonnes of white refined sugar production was expected. He said that the country would have over one million tonnes of surplus sugar stocks as the national requirement was 4.2 million tonnes and the country had some 0.6 million tonnes of carryover sweetener stocks. He underscored that though the country had favourable circumstances for sugar exports but government did not allow sweetener exports. “Sugar price is already hovering around bottom and industry has limited outlet due to export ban. The price in domestic markets will remain stable,” he maintained.
Responding to a question, he said that in the international markets sugar was being quoted at $619 per tonne, which meant that Pakistan could export the sweetener around Rs60 per kilogram. Federal minister for industries Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in a press statement said government had decided to reduce sweetener prices to provide maximum relief to the common man. Government had reduced sweetener prices from Rs55 to Rs42 per kilogram during the last two weeks. Earlier, it reduced sugar price by Rs three per kilogram and now it dropped Rs10 per kilogram at utility stores, he pointed out.