President of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Iftikhar Ahmed Vohra has urged the government to immediately withdraw the unjust decision taken by the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) to raise regulatory duty on imported sugar by 100 percent. In a statement issued, President KCCI pointed out that regulatory duty was raised from 20 percent to 40 percent which clearly depicts a 100 percent rise on a particular commodity being frequently used every day in each and every household of the country.
President KCCI pointed out that globally, the prices of sugar were low whereas in Pakistan, it was being sold at an exorbitant rate. "Instead of providing relief to the masses by urging the sugar mill owners to bring down prices of locally produced sugar, the government decided to raise regulatory duty to 40 percent on a comparatively cheaper imported sugar with a view to make it costlier," he added.
Iftikhar Vohra was of the view that the government has taken this unjust step with a view to please a handful of sugar mill owners who are probably very influential and it seems that they even are able to manipulate the decisions being taken by the ECC. He said the government must refrain from taking those steps which created more problems for the general public, particularly the poor segment of society as they were already pretty much distressed and overburdened in the ongoing era of inflation in which prices of almost all the commodities had escalated sharply and some of the basic commodities being used at every household had gone beyond the approach of common man. He stressed that the higher authorities in Islamabad must take notice of that poor decision-making and take steps to control prices of various household commodities with a single goal to provide relief to the general public.-PR