According to market reports a sugar crisis likely to occur in the Punjab capital within a couple of days, the govt has sent a notification of an ordinance giving vast powers to the cane commissioner and district administration to regulate the sugar business.
The notification came hours after the Punjab cabinet approved the Punjab Sugar Supply Chain Management Order 2021 on Thursday.
The wholesale and retail markets were disturbed when the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was tasked to check price manipulation by sugar millers and brokers. Dealers in Akbari Mandi, the main wholesale market, say that they are left with a stock enough only to meet the requirements of Lahore for a couple of days as supplies to the market have been disturbed since the FIA was directed to take action against sugar price maneuvering.
Aftab Butt, a sugar dealer, tells media officials that the daily sugar consumption of Lahore is 1,200 tonnes or in other words, it needs a supply of 24,000 bags of 50kg each per day. Because of no supplies from the sugar mills for the last one week, the demand and supply gap of the sweetener has widened and the prices may hit new peaks, he cautions.
