LAHORE: Sugar traders and vendors in the city have started plundering customers by mixing substandard sugar with good quality sugar and selling this at higher rates, customers told Pakistan Today on Sunday.
Customers said traders were selling substandard sugar at Rs 90 per kg. The government has fixed imported sugar’s price at Rs 72 per kg but its quality and sweetness is far low than the locally produced sugar, which is sold in the market for Rs 90 per kg.
The traders have started mixing imported sugar with local sugar and selling it at higher rates. “I purchased one kilogram sugar at Rs 90 per kg and the shopkeeper said its quality was high therefore it was expensive,” said a customer Sharjeel Ahmed adding that when he consumed sugar he came to know that it had been mixed with substandard sugar.
Some of the labourers working in go-downs of different traders said they were mixing one bag of locally manufactured sugar with two bags of imported sugar. “We are asked to mix sugar and sell it in the market,” said a labourer, Aslam Nutt of Green Town.
A 50 kg bag of imported sugar is available for Rs 3450 – 3500 while local sugar is available for Rs 4,200 – 4,400. It is estimated that this adulterated sugar costs around Rs 75 per kg to the traders and shopkeepers, and they sell it for Rs 90 per kg thus taking Rs 15 per kg as profit. Reportedly, imported sugar was sold to Akbari Mandi traders and the city district government and provincial government remained silent over it. “Since the start of sugar crisis in October, the traders, millers and importers have found many ways of plundering people,” said a customer, Abdul Hayee adding that the government remained silent in the entire episode.
“The government even failed to ensure sales at Rs 72 per kg,” said another customer, Asim Hussain. He said sugarcane crushing has started but still the prices have not come down rather they are increasing.
