The Punjab government has expedited its crackdown on the sugar hoarders across the province to ensure availability of sugar at the government fixed rate.
The district administration along with the teams of police and food department conducted raids in Sargodha, Sahiwal, Faisalabad and Rahim Yar Khan. During the raids, two sugar mills were sealed in Sargodha and Faisalabad.
The officials told the media that huge stocks of hoarded sugar have been recovered in different cities. The officials recovered 100 sacks of sugar in Lahore, 480 in Sargodha and 6,757 metric tonnes in Rahim Yar Khan.
The seized sugar stocks will be sold in markets at controlled prices. The Punjab Chief Secretary said that those looting the consumers will face strict action and crackdown on the hoarders will be continued.
He added that the authorities will not allow the sale of sugar above the retail price fixed at Rs89.75 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, in another development, sugar has disappeared from Lahore’s wholesale market, causing difficulties for the retailers. The sources privy to the development said, there is no sugar in the city’s Akbari Mandi as the hoarders have reportedly reacted to the ongoing action against them.
The administration sealed many shops in a crackdown on the hoarders for selling the commodity at exorbitant rate. The retailers are finding it difficult to get the sugar to meet the demand of the end-users.
On Thursday, prices of sugar witnessed a rapid rise in various parts of the country.
The wholesale rate of the essential commodity had also gone up to Rs25 after which it was available Rs140 per kg. Whereas, in the retail market, the sugar kilogram is available for no less than Rs145.
In Lahore, the retail price of sugar on Thursday was being sold Rs140/kg while the Sugar Dealers Association said there’s a suspended supply of the commodity by the millers.
