Rising sugar crisis puts Pak govt at stake

---

The rising price and extreme shortage of sugar have spread panic among Pakistanis during last four weeks, triggering a hatred wave among people against the current political government.
Worried and wandering poor with long faces, in search of one kilogram sugar, standing in long lines and scuffling with each other in front of government stores is the general picture of Pakistani markets these days.
"Pakistani consumers are being forced to pay almost twice the average world price for one kg of sugar 115 to 125 rupees per kg ( 1 U.S. dollar equals to 85 Pakistani rupees), all time highest price, as against the world market price of 60-70 rupees," said an official on Thursday.
"In Pakistan, the sugar industry has turned 'political' as most of the 90 percent mill owners and stockers of the product are part of the current government. We have no powers to solve the problem by taking actions against these big fishes," a government official told Xinhua on demand of anonymity.
The government has summoned an emergency meeting of all stakeholders on Thursday to sort out the problems of sugar price and its availability but people are not looking satisfied with the efforts as they think the responsible are sitting in the government.
"The solution is not in the meetings but in practical iron hand actions. We are suffering but sugar mafia presents both in the government and in the opposition are making billions of rupees by hoarding," said Hanif Muhammad, a worried consumer who failed to get some sugar even after the struggle of many hours in capital Islamabad.
Even after many big claims, the government could not take any concrete action against the hoarders.
Sources revealed that all four provinces have adequate stocks of sugar but affective politicians are creating artificial shortage to earn extra money on sugar.
Abrar Hafiz, secretary general of Consumers Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP), terming the unprecedented increase in sugar price an example of poor governance. "Our Parliament is not sincere. Almost all the political parties have united under an alliance to collectively swindle the consumers," he criticized.
"We always listened about cartelization in commodities, but never heard about political cartelization as we have in our country now," he added.
Citizens, especially salaried class, condemned the government for its failure to control sugar price despite availability of plentiful quantity of sugar in hoarders' stores because it has gone out of people's purchase power.
Pakistan is at the fifth number among top ten sugar cane producer in the world but for many years it has been suffering sugar shortage and nobody knows its reasons.
Pakistan's annual sugar consumption is 4.2 million tons against the total estimated production of 3.65 million tons annually. To meet the shortfall of the sugar Pakistan has to import the balance sugar from other countries.
Javed Kiyani, Chairman of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, blamed the government for crisis by delaying sugar imports supply to the national markets.
He hoped that the sugar supply would be smooth after the sugarcane crushing starts from Nov. 25.
Now after seeing the public anger, all political parties present in the government and in opposition had started to blame each other for the crisis just only for political point scoring and face saving before public.
A loud hue and cry was seen in the current session of the lower house on Thursday when opposition party Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) protested against the crisis and recent rise in fuel prices.
Officials of the Punjab government, ruled by PML-N, blamed the federal government for not ensuring the import of sugar before the crisis started in spite of the warning letters written by them.
Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab, told media that arrangements had been finalized for the provision of sugar to the people at a reasonable rate very soon. — Xinhua