The Economic Coordination Committee (EEC) is ruing pricey sugar in Pakistan that has stayed put despite a slump in national inflation.
During an EEC meeting on February 3, 2025, the committee found that halfway through financial year 2025, inflation has dropped to 7.2%. In the corresponding period through the October 2023-September 2024 financial year, inflation was at a steep 28.8%.
The meeting additionally discussed the prices of currently expensive basics, among which sugar, vegetables and edible oil rule.
Because core inflation is down, the committee recommended a price decrement regime that is tangible to the common consumer.
Pricey domestic sugar has gained prominence not only due to local price hoarding but because it is starkly opposite low international prices.
With the Holy Month of Ramadhan around the corner, locals are worried that sugar mills will choose to continue profiteering.
Some even think that during Ramadhan the cost could even reach 200 Pakistani rupees ($0.72) a kg, far above normal pricing.
Price Hike Across Cities
Metropolitan rates are up by at least 15 rupees ($0.054) to the kg while wholesale sits at 146 rupees ($0.52) a kg.
In the Punjabi city of Multan, sugar has touched 160 rupees ($0.57), from 135 rupees ($0.48) a fortnight ago, Samaa TV reports.
The same trend informs Fasalabad, Pakistan’s third largest city, also in Punjab. Here, ex-mill offers are at 146 rupees ($0.52) while retail rates have hiked to 160 rupees ($0.57).
It is major urban centers such as Lahore, however, where consumers are feeling the sharpest pinch, at maximum 165 rupees ($0.58) a kg.
The government’s maximum selling price of sugar at retail shops is around 145 rupees ($0.51).
Organically, the February 2025 situation mirrors the late 2024 wholesale rate of 125 rupees ($0.45) per kg, a 10-rupee ($0.036) increase. At the same time, the late 2024 retail rate had appreciated by 15 rupees ($0.054) to 140 rupees ($0.50) a kg.
EEC’s mention of the pricey commodity has therefore indemnified the locals as really feeling the cost. For extra bits on sugar in Pakistan such as the above, read on the statistics, next.
Statistics on Sugar in Pakistan
Ranking as the number 7 biggest sugar producer globally, Pakistan averages 8 million tonnes in sugar production per year (2021-22). Whenever the country achieves this amount, it usually has a small surplus to export for consumption reaches 7.749 million tonnes (2022). This export bulk has made the country the 7th biggest sugar-exporting nation.
Is sugar consumption high in Pakistan?
In the 2021-2022 season, people in Pakistan took 31.79 kg of sugar per person per year, the 118th highest globally. Earlier in the 2020-21 season, the rate had been 25 kg per capita, slightly above the then world average at 23 kg.
What is the annual export value of Pakistani sugar?
As a major sugar exporter, Pakistan averaged $2.3 billion per year in export sugar returns between 2010 and 2018.
Do exports have a bearing on sugar prices in Pakistan?
While pre-2018 prices had been manageable, post-2018 rates started to waver after the introduction of an export subsidy. The 5.35-rupee ($0.019) per kg subsidy encouraged exports, created a domestic sugar shortage and forced retail prices up.