Policy paralysis in Pakistan deepens sugar crisis, exposes governance failures

Islamabad [Pakistan], November 25 (ANI): The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has held the government's flawed policies and administrative missteps responsible for the sharp rise in sugar prices across the country, dismissing allegations that mill owners are manipulating the market.
The association said that the closure of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) sales portals and transport restrictions between provinces had severely disrupted supply chains, driving up retail rates nationwide, as reported by The Express Tribune.
According to The Express Tribune, earlier, the Wholesale Grocers Association had accused sugar millers of deliberately creating an "artificial crisis." The group alleged that despite a record sugarcane crop and imports, mills had intentionally withheld supply to inflate prices.
However, the PSMA rejected these claims, saying it had long warned authorities that shutting down the FBR portals would choke distribution and trigger a price surge. The industry added that instead of addressing the issue, the government pressured mills to offload unwanted imported sugar that consumers largely avoided.
The association further revealed that in Sindh, portals were deliberately kept inactive so imported sugar at the port could be sold first, resulting in shortages of domestically produced sugar.
It blamed local administrations in Punjab for forcing mills to sell to designated dealers, who later sold sugar at inflated rates, pocketing the profits. The PSMA maintained that the industry was not responsible for the ongoing crisis and called on the government to immediately lift what it described as "unconstitutional" bans on inter-provincial sugar transport, as cited by The Express Tribune.
Wholesale Grocers Association Chairperson Rauf Ibrahim accused authorities of engineering the crisis by delaying the start of the crushing season.
He noted that only 10% of mills were operational while 90% remained shut, pushing ex-mill prices in Karachi to PKR 185 per kilogram and retail prices beyond PKR 200.
The PSMA concluded that the government's insistence on prioritising imported sugar and keeping local sales portals closed had backfired, deepening shortages and amplifying public hardship across Pakistan, as reported by The Express Tribune. (ANI)