Despite the start of the crushing season in Sindh and Punjab and the availability of large stocks of imported sugar, wholesale and retail sugar prices in the country have surged to record levels.

According to Rauf Ibrahim, Chairman of the Wholesale Grocers Association, the wholesale price of sugar in Karachi has, for the first time, reached Rs202 per kilogram. "Sugar mill owners in Sindh have halted the supply of sugar to Karachi’s wholesale markets for the past two days," he said.

As part of an organised strategy, the wholesale price of sugar has reached Rs175 per kilogram in Punjab and Rs200 per kilogram in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he added.

In various areas of Karachi, the retail price of sugar has now climbed to Rs210 to Rs215 per kilogram.

Due to the suspension of supply from sugar mil

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