Dilly-dallying with sugar

Being diabetic is probably a blessing these days. Seriously - with sugar prices skyrocketing to nearly Rs90 a kg in retail markets, the sweet-toothed are definitely not rejoicing.
Ridden with tremendous speculation and mismanagement, tussles and blame-games played amongst the several stakeholders, sugar prices are radically high.
The TCP had been urged time and again for the timely import of sugar, but the pleas of the ECC did not see any tangible result. Lengthy procurement procedures and insufficient funding from the Finance Ministry have been cited as reasons prolonging sugar imports by the TCP.
While progress in sugar imports had been witnessed, it was barely enough to suffice the monthly demand of 350,000 tons of sugar in the country.
A press release by the TCP last week revealed that so far 355,509 metric tons of sugar has been imported by the TCP and that the existing stocks of the sweetener, before the addition of the latest shipments stand at 155,948 metric tons. The said stocks would be sufficient for just over a month.
Though LCs for import of 70,000 tons of sugar from the Dubai-based Sucden, and 250,000 tons from the Singapore-based Agrocorp have been opened, it is noteworthy to see that the contracts had been awarded to the companies in early August. A nearly month-long delay had been brought about without any concrete explanation.
While the arrival of sugar from the said contracts is expected to be seen in mid-September, and one can only wonder if this will fall on schedule, it will get only some oxygen for the suffocated sugar supply. LC for the import of 205,000 tons of sugar from the Dubai-based Al-Khaleej Sugar still has to see the light of the day owing to a paucity of funds.
In the wake of such a woolly situation of sugar imports, and the consequent anticipated rise in sugar prices down the months, hoarders and speculators decided to play their part in aggravating the crisis.
The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), claimed to have sold 95 percent of their stocks, and the TCP claimed that provincial governments had picked up only around 40 percent of the 100,000 tons allotted for them, implying they have sufficient stocks.
Clearly, there are stocks of sugar lying idle and hidden, only for the best interests of the hoarders.
No doubt the delay in sugar imports has had a major contribution in enticing hoarders, but other factors such as the post-flood destruction of the crop and distributional hiccups are also a few of the causes for the price rise.
The caveat is not only in local price speculations, but also a possible rise in international sugar prices, which steeply rose to near six-month highs, ending at $578.7 per ton on August 31.
Trimming of Brazils expected output by 4.3 percent over April projections, reduced rain forecasts in Brazil, loosening of import rules by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), and heightened demand from Russia and Pakistan due to natural calamities will likely keep global sugar prices firm.
Sugar is not likely to see fair prices for a long time to come.