What’s going on there? Sugar prices have shot up from around Rs. 30 to Rs. 100 in a matter of months!
Pakistanis can not afford luxuries. People are spending money only on the most basics of survival items. Influential powerful people in politics know about it. This is why they have their investments in basic commodities, like sugar, oil/ ghee, flour, etc.
And every now and then these politicians, who are present in all parties, collude with each other to create artificial crisis in the country. Thus hiking the prices and making huge profits.
In this current crisis as well, I have heard (I will try to find reference) that actually there is no shortage of sugar. It happened only due to hoarding which resulted from rumors of sugar shortage.
I am wondering what Awami hukoomat is doing to control this price hike?
What's going on there? Sugar prices have shot up from around Rs. 30 to Rs. 100 in a matter of months!
Pakistanis can not afford luxuries. People are spending money only on the most basics of survival items. Influential powerful people in politics know about it. This is why they have their investments in basic commodities, like sugar, oil/ ghee, flour, etc.
And every now and then these politicians, who are present in all parties, collude with each other to create artificial crisis in the country. Thus hiking the prices and making huge profits.
In this current crisis as well, I have heard (I will try to find reference) that actually there is no shortage of sugar. It happened only due to hoarding which resulted from rumors of sugar shortage.
I am wondering what Awami hukoomat is doing to control this price hike?
That is always the case, this time around they will blame the flooding, everytime they find some reason to pass the blame
Will many influential people in the country owning and running sugar mills, it is easy to manipulate prices. I wonder if CJ is diabetic.
Having said that, a two-month boycott of sugar by our people would not only financially dent these hoarders enough for them to think twice before attempting this again, it would also improve general level of health in the country.
While the poor farmer works for months to grow sugarcane, government fixes the price of sugarcane to Rs 120 per 40Kg. From this 40Kg, 4 Kgs of sugar is made and then the mill owner sells it for Rs 400.
On top of that, the mill owners dont even pay the farmer upfront, they get the sugarcane from him and issue him a receipt and payment is made after weeks or months once the sugar has been sold.
No where in the world would an industry get all its raw material on credit and then get 300-400% profit on it.
ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary body on Thursday stopped short of recommending to the government the **expulsion of Law Minister Babar Awan **from the main economic decision-making forum after a top bureaucrat disclosed that the minister pushed for striking a deal with a Dubai-based commodity supplier instead of importing sugar through competitive bidding.
He said never in the history a law minister has been inducted into the ECC (Economic Coordination Committee) and bearing in mind his tainted record the committee has expressed concern over his taking part in its meetings.
Interesting article. TCP Chairman says that Babar Awan is to be blamed for this crisis.
False rumors from Pakistan Sugar Mills Association and its president Iskandar Khan.
Bashir said a lobby, representing the sugar industry, kept spreading false information that sugar stocks had fallen below 400,000 tons.
At the end of July, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association President Iskandar Khan started talking about sugar shortage and that prices would go beyond Rs100 per kg during Ramazan.
Bashir said Pakistan was out of the woods as the country had sufficient sugar stocks and prices also dropped by Rs3 per kg after the TCP decided to sell 50,000 tons in the market.
“Hoarders are trying to keep prices at the existing level before the start of crushing season on November 15, but they are threatened by the TCP’s move to release the commodity in open market.”
Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Muhammad Gondal said the federal government was blamed for all acts which it did not commit. The task of the Government was only to ensure the availability of sugar. To a question he said the federal government had no mechanism to eliminate cartels. It was the provincial government’s task to take steps to eliminate cartels, he added.
I don’t know about this, but federal government should at least ask Iskandar Khan why he was spreading false rumors when there was no shortage of sugar in the first place..
Gondal sahab probably does not know that federal government was earlier saying that it would not allow the crisis to develop this year. So feds did take responsibility at that time in Jan.
ISLAMABAD, January 22, 2010 (Balochistan Times): Minister for industries and Production, Mir Hazar Khan Bijrani has said that keeping in view of previous years sugar shortage, **this year government would not allow anybody to create sugar crisis and ensured smooth supply of the commodity in the open market at affordable prices for relief of the people. **He was commenting on media reports here Friday fearing a sugar crisis this year too, the Minister out-rightly rejected the reports. We would ensure smooth and sufficient supply of sugar in the open market to discourage hoarders and profiteers and make available the commodity on affordable rates to the people across the country, he said in a statement issued here on Thursday. The Minister vowed to implement the sugar policy 2009-10 in its letter and spirit and provide the commodity on cheaper prices of Rs.45 per kg as compared to market rates for the relief of low income group, through Utility Stores Corporation of Pakistans outlets across the country.
After reading what's going on between Ministry of Industries and Production, and Trade Corporation of Pakistan; it is evident that this is another case of extreme mismanagement of Pakistani people. It's not just sugar crisis where this incapability shows off, it is present everywhere in every field.
Similar crisis happened last year, but government despite being shown clear signs of this repeating, completely failed in controlling prices this year as well.
This is the difference between Pakistan and any developed country. Those guys learn from their mistakes, and we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over and over again.
Can any one confirm that there is a law/legal restriction to build a new sugar mill?
All of the sugar mills belong to politicians or retired army generals who have turned into politicians, most of the time these politicians hold important seats like CMship of Punjab and Presidency of Pakistan... so they try their level best to have maximize the profits...
Supreme Court or High Court took notice of the sugar crisis last year... they set the sugar price but no govt. was ready to implement the decision...
That said, the sugar shortage was 1st witnessed in 70s when bhutto was in Power... then it surfaced when Mushy along the Pervaiz Elahi got in the business Sugar, Flour hoarding... and now it is trend...
as Kakabali has said, boycott all sugar related items, stop using sweets and cakes... stop buying Kher-MIX etc... and the price of the sugar will settle...
I think this is a self created shortage to get illegal profit. Government should not have any problem to tackle with this artificial shortage. Import the sugar from India asap as was frequently done in the past and supply in the local market. Bring price of sugar as Rs. 10 per kilo. Let these profiteers die under the heaps of their ownn sugar.
If PPP wants to win the next elections, it has to take some drastic actions.
It's the third or fourth time that PPP has come to power. And it never took any drastic actions whatsoever anytime. It won't do anything this time around either.
After going through the news items on this crisis, it looks to me that PPP govt is the main responsible party for causing this crisis by failing to import sugar on time, and ignoring warnings from various sources.
everyone is in on this......federal govt, provincial govts, govt corporations, beaurocrats, stockist,sugar mill owners..... when all of them are getting their share who is there to stop them?
sugar mills don't let stock out...don't pay the farmers
stockist stock the sugars to get its price high
the govt corporations join hands with the above two and do not import sugar when required (even when the cabinet ordered)
even if the sugar is imported it is not released
even if it is released, the persons who get it are stockist and those recommended by the politicians