After a spike of Rs10 to Rs12 per kilogram in the open market, the price of sugar in Quetta has jumped once more, from Rs185 to Rs195 per kilogram.
The ongoing increase has made matters worse for those who are already dealing with inflation. Balochistani traders claim that the proprietors of sugar mills are mostly to blame for the frequent price increases. They said that in order to take advantage of the problem, the mill owners had manufactured a shortage.
Anjuman Markazi Yaseen Mengal, general secretary of Tajiran Balochistan, said that mill owners are increasingly using the pretext of scarcity to profit from their operations.
According to Quetta Division Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat, efforts to stop sugar smuggling have resulted in a rise in legal trade.
