ISLAMABAD: Sugar, wheat flour and milk prices have continued witnessing an upward trend despite the government’s repeated announcements of bringing down the prices.

According to wholesalers, sugar price, Monday, went up from Rs6600 per 50kg bag to Rs7400 bag, best quality wheat flour from Rs5500 per 79kg bag to Rs5900 per 79kg bag, and milk from Rs1080 per carton to Rs1120 per carton.

Traders blamed the government’s flawed policies for raising prices of sugar, milk, and wheat flour, saying that over the past three years, the government repeatedly claimed of having bumper crops of sugarcane and wheat but the country was facing wheat and sugar crisis for the second consecutive year.

Mohammad Shafiq Abbasi, a wholesaler, said that the government failed to take timely steps for imports of sugar and wheat, as a result, the country was facing a serious crisis of both commodities.

He said that if within the next two months, appropriate steps were not taken, the wheat flour price would likely to cross Rs100 per kg mark and sugar price has already reached Rs160 per kg level, in the retail market, which is expected to reach Rs200 per kilogram mark.

According to officials of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, sugarcane production in the 2020-21 remained at 74 million tons, which produced over seven million tons of sugar.

Recently the Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) had fixed wheat crop production at 28.9 million tons and sugarcane production target at 87.53 million tons.

Moreover, the price of 20kg flour bag was also inflated by Rs80 in a week, as per the figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The most inflated price of 20kg flour bag is Rs1500; however, Punjab still has a cheaper price of 20kg flour in comparison to the other provinces.

On the other hand, vegetable prices shot up across the country as tomato is being sold at Rs200 per kg, while potato and onion at Rs80 per kg in the twin cities of Rawalpindi/Islamabad.

Pulse gram (whole) price went increased by Rs800 per 40kg in the wholesale market from Rs6,800 per 40kg to Rs7,600 per 40kg, which in retail is being sold at Rs210 per kg against previous rate of Rs190 per kg.

Owing to an increase in sugar and wheat flour prices, rates of bakery items have already increased by Rs5 to Rs15 per item including bread, buns, cake rusk, and eggs.

Some of the ruling party officials have claimed that sugarcane production would exceed 100 million tons for the year 2021-22, saying which would be sufficient to produce a record nine million tons of sugar in 2021-22.

Without giving a reference the ruling party officials said that 100 million tons of sugarcane production would be enough to meet one-and-a-half year of consumption requirement.

This figure is far more than the estimation of seven million tons of sugar production in the upcoming season.

The annual sugar requirement of the country has been pegged at 6.2 million tons.

The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) on the other hand, estimated 5.8-5.9 million tons of sugar production on the back of about 75-77 million tons sugarcane production in the coming season, claiming a recovery level of seven percent.

Mohammad Ibrahim Mughal, chairman Agri-Forum Pakistan, while expressing serious concern over the start of delay in crushing season by the PSMA-associated mills, said every year sugar millers use the same tactics, which were not only causing financial losses to the farming community but also providing sugar millers and big sugar dealers an opportunity to make additional money by creating artificial shortage of the commodity.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021