Punjab govt providing sugar at reduced rates to shops, utility stores: Hammad Azhar

Federal Minister of Industries and Production Hammad Azhar on Sunday said that the Punjab government is providing sugar at reduced rates to shops as well as utility stores in several districts of the province.

The federal minister, in a tweet, said: "The Punjab government has started distributing imported sugar at Rs81-84 [per kilogramme] in different districts [of the province]."

"The prices are less in utility stores — Rs68 [per kg]," Azhar added.

The minister, however, did not specify in which districts the sugar was being distributed.

According to Agriculture Marketing Information Service, the prices of sugar per kg in Punjab normally range between Rs91-104.

Moreover, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistic's weekly Sensitive Price Indicator, a 1.91% drop was recorded in sugar prices in the week ending November 5.

Two days earlier, The News had reported that the sale of imported sugar at the officially-fixed price had started in sahulat bazaars and open markets across Punjab, and out of the first consignment of 25,000 metric tonnes, 13,875 metric ton sweetener was sent to the districts.