Sugar prices hit public hard

Rawalpindi: Like other parts of the country, the residents of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad were buying 1 kilogram ‘of sugar’ at Rs150 in the retail markets, thanks to federal and provincial governments for leaving the public in the lurch and failing to address this issue.

After the flour, the sugar is also out of the reach of the consumers. The sugar per kilogram is being sold at Rs135 in the wholesale market while the 50kg sack of the sugar is being sold at Rs6,750 in the wholesale market. One kilogram of ‘sugar’ is being sold at Rs150 in retail shops for over a month. The government-run utility stores have stopped selling the commodity for over a month.

The Procurement Department of Utility Stores Corporation (USC) senior officers on condition of anonymity said that mills have refused to provide sugar to USC at subsidized prices. “The department could not afford to sell sugar on subsidized rates of Rs90 per kilogram while 1-kilogram sugar was selling at Rs150 in open market sho­ps,” the officers claimed. The officers also said that they were trying to convince millers. Rawalpindi Retail Shopkeepers Welfare Association (RRSWA) President Sheikh Muhammad Naveed told ‘The News’ that majority of shopkeepers have left selling ‘sugar’ due to its skyrocketing prices. The local management is insisting to sell the commodity in reduce prices but how could they sell it at reduced prices after purchasing it at skyrocketing rates, he said.

Talking to ‘The News’ people belonging to different walks of life appealed to federal and provincial governments to address public grievances on priority. Sugar and flour prices have gone out of reach for a common man but high ups are yet busy in photo sessions, people strongly protested.