Islamabad: Sugar prices in the retail market in the country have increased by Rs 20 per kg in the last month, reports Brecoder.
The prices of the sweetener have increased from Rs 4,500 per 50-kg bag to Rs 5,600 per bag in the wholesale market.
The prices of the commodity were increasing for the past six weeks from the range of Rs 100 per bag to Rs 200 per bag weekly and they are not at the highest level this season.
It was expected that the sugar prices would go up after increasing the sugarcane support price from Rs 230 to Rs 300 in Punjab and from Rs 250 to Rs 302 per 40 kg in Sindh last November.
The Sindh government has decided to fix the rate of new sugarcane crops at Rs 450 per 40kg, said Manzoor Wassan, the Adviser to the Chief Minister of Sindh. The decision has been forwarded to the provincial cabinet for final approval and once approved the price of sugar in the retail market would be around Rs 150 per kg.
Iskandar Khan, an office bearer of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) cited three reasons for the increase in sugar prices: the government has imposed a 20% tax, a 22% interest rate, and a hike in sugarcane prices.
