AGL 40.02 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.05%)
AIRLINK 127.36 Increased By ▲ 0.32 (0.25%)
BOP 6.61 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.9%)
CNERGY 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.22%)
DCL 8.55 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
DFML 41.79 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (0.84%)
DGKC 87.54 Increased By ▲ 0.69 (0.79%)
FCCL 32.64 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (1.12%)
FFBL 65.02 Increased By ▲ 0.22 (0.34%)
FFL 10.26 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.1%)
HUBC 109.70 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.12%)
HUMNL 14.64 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.27%)
KEL 5.11 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (1.19%)
KOSM 7.56 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1.34%)
MLCF 41.42 Increased By ▲ 0.04 (0.1%)
NBP 59.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.71 (-1.18%)
OGDC 193.80 Increased By ▲ 3.70 (1.95%)
PAEL 28.37 Increased By ▲ 0.54 (1.94%)
PIBTL 7.83 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
PPL 151.89 Increased By ▲ 1.83 (1.22%)
PRL 26.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.48 (-1.79%)
PTC 16.17 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (0.62%)
SEARL 83.99 Decreased By ▼ -2.01 (-2.34%)
TELE 7.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.39%)
TOMCL 35.52 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.31%)
TPLP 8.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.25%)
TREET 16.08 Decreased By ▼ -0.33 (-2.01%)
TRG 52.74 Decreased By ▼ -0.55 (-1.03%)
UNITY 26.21 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.19%)
WTL 1.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.79%)
BR100 9,953 Increased By 69.4 (0.7%)
BR30 30,908 Increased By 307.7 (1.01%)
KSE100 93,785 Increased By 429.6 (0.46%)
KSE30 29,050 Increased By 119.3 (0.41%)

Sugar millers have ignored Supreme Court's (SC) directive regarding the sale of locally produced white refined sugar at the prices fixed by the Lahore High Court, and have unanimously decided to block supply of the commodity to the wholesale market till the apex court reaches any decision.
Even after the announcement of the superior court, the commodity is being sold at Rs 48/kg in retail markets of Punjab, Rs 60/kg in Sindh, Rs 63/kg in Balochistan, and Rs 60-63/kg in some parts of the NWFP. The sugar crisis was likely to aggravate before Eid-ul-Fitr due to suspension of supply and gap between demand and supply of the commodity to wholesale market, sources told Business Recorder on Thursday.
They said it was not possible for millers to sell refined sugar at ex-mill price of Rs 36/kg as the cost of production on one kilogram processed commodity stood at Rs 38. "The millers had purchased sugarcane at Rs 145 per 40/kg from growers due to decline in crop during 2008-09 crushing season against official price of Rs 80 and Rs 81 per maund and paid Rs 2.31/kg General Sales Tax (GST) and 45 paisa Federal Excise Duty (FED) to the government, so how it is possible to reduce ex-mill price," they added.
They said sugar mill owners had accepted the orders of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and fixed the ex-mill rate of the commodity at Rs 45/kg, but it was not possible to reduce sugar price to Rs 36/kg. "On August 31, the sugar stock including that of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) stood at 1.14 million tons, which is enough to cater to the needs till December 2009," they added.
They said, due to suspension in supply of sugar from mills, an artificial shortage of the commodity had been created in wholesale markets, which would lead to price hike. "The two provinces Balochistan and the NWFP are already facing sugar crisis due to ban imposed by the Punjab government on the movement of the commodity," the sources told.
It may be mentioned here that a three-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan and Justice Nasirul Mulk had warned PSMA of the contempt of court proceedings if its members failed to comply with Lahore High Court (LHC) order regarding sugar price till the apex court reaches any decision, and postponed the hearing till September 24.
Talking to Business Recorder, PSMA Chairman, Iskandar Khan, said the millers moved the Supreme Court with a hope that the superior court would address the issues faced by local industry after LHC verdict of fixing retail sugar price at Rs 40/kg. PSMA would try its best to convince the apex court by producing facts regarding sugar prices, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2009

Comments

Comments are closed.