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National Food Security and Research Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain said on Monday that there was no shortage of sugar in the country, state-owned Radio Pakistan reported .
Speaking at a press conference, the minister rejected reports that the commodity was being sold at Rs180 per kilogramme.
Contrary to the rates announced by the prime minister and several government attempts to maintain retail sales at Rs130 per kg, sugar prices in the markets continue to soar above Rs180 per kg in various markets across the country.
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In response to the crisis, the premier has constituted a 10-member committee, led by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, to engage with the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) and negotiate price reductions.
Meanwhile, Dar had announced that the sugar price should be Rs164 per kg, and it was noted that the primary factor behind this sharp price hike was excessive sugar exports over the past year, totalling 700,000 tonnes.
Sugar consumption is forecast to increase slightly to 6.7 million tonnes as it has continuously grown due to the population growth and demand from the food processing sector.
In the last week of February 2025, the Sugar Advisory Board meeting chaired by Hussain was informed that in the current season, 2024-25, Pakistan was likely to produce 6.8 million tonnes of sugar with a slight increase over the previous season, while the consumption is expected to be 6.6m tonnes (some leftover stock was present in the supply chain as well).
To take note of the situation, the government has directed the Federal Investigation Agency, along with the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), to gather intelligence reports.
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The CCP has again been directed by the government to curb cartelisation as well as price fixing in the sugar sector. However, past investigations and regulatory scrutiny, anti-competitive practices, and other actions by the CCP against the sugar industry remain unaddressed due to weak enforcement and protracted legal challenges.
Today, Hussain assured that the retail sugar price would not be allowed to exceed Rs164 under any circumstances, and neither would its ex-mill price go beyond Rs159.
He stressed that the federal government “will take strict action with the cooperation of provinces if anybody tried to increase the sugar prices”, according to the report.
The minister also mentioned that PSMA had set up stalls at a tehsil level during the holy month of Ramazan where the commodity was being sold at Rs130 per kilogramme.
He said the commodity was available at Rs153 per kilogramme at Utility Stores.