Smuggling giving rise to escalating sugar prices

PESHAWAR: The price of sugar is on the rise in the markets of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capital city of 2.4 million residents, climbing to Rs 160 per kg in the retail market.

Dealers are laying blame at the door of both governmental supply chains and the bustling smuggler economy that prospers across the Durand Line despite governmental crackdown initiatives.

On Saturday, it was reported that the wholesale price of sugar had surged by Rs 13 to Rs 146 per kg. In the retail market, moreover, sugar was being priced at Rs 160 per kg. Dealers reported that the increase in the price of a 50 kg bag of sugar had witnessed an increase of Rs 650 over the past 4 days.

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According to dealers the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had failed to provide them with enough sugar to meet the demand. They also pointed out that smuggling sugar to Afghanistan boosts prices, predicting an alarming further increase in the near future.

This development follows the recent trend of inflation in the prices of basic commodities across the underdeveloped province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and across Pakistan in general.

A recent IMF report ranked Pakistan the most expensive country in the region, with a 2023 inflation rate eclipsing even Sri Lanka’s. The report predicted that the Pakistani inflation rate will remain the regional highest over the next several years. It also reported a 56.45 per cent increase in sugar prices over the last one year, along with a 102. 43 per cent increase in flour prices, 68.87 percent in rice, and 66.58 in wheat.

The Pak-Afghan border at Torkham has long been a hub for smuggling, particularly of sugar among other essential goods.