Islamabad, Pakistan – When Ayesha Khan, a mother of four, bought grocery products for her family this week, Sugar was at the top of the shopping list.
A few kilometers away in the corridors of power, the government and the Bureaucrats of Pakistan were trying to rid a solution for the outbreak of the prices of Sugar. But for Khan, buying sugar was a necessity.
“It has been almost 20 days since Ramadan started, and it will be the third time that I buy a five -kilograms’ sugar bag for the family,” Khan, who is in the thirties, told Al Jazeera during his purchases in an Islamabad market, which is mainly frequented by middle -class customers.
“What can I say?” We all have a sweet tooth, and we love our sweet and rooh afza tea! ” She added, laughing, referring to the popular pink drink.
General inflation in the country tends to drop over the past year, inflation crashed from 23.06% in February 2024 to 1.5% in February of this year. It was after inflation reached a record of 38% in May 2023.
However, in recent months, the price of sugar has increased by almost 22%, going from 140 rupees per kilogram ($ 0.50) in January to 171 rupees per kilogram ($ 0.61) during the second week of March, according to Pakistan’s Bureau.
But in the Islamabad markets, many customers said that the increase in sugar prices was only a pinch, not a punch, to their wallets, adding that price stability for other key products such as milk, wheat and rice helped them balance their budgets.
Mohammad Shehzad, 27, bought Jalebi – A South Asian dessert in the shape of a spiral made from versatile flour and dipped in hot sugar syrup.
He said that even if Ramadan has usually made a slight increase in prices for almost all goods, things had been worse in previous years.
“We like to add sugar to our tea and desserts, of course, but because our overall expenses are under control, the increase in sugar prices did not hurt us too much,” he told Al Jazeera while placing an order for three kilograms of Jalebi, sold for 650 rupees ($ 2.32) per kilogram, for an Iftar dinner.
Ramadan, with his daily rituals of Suhoor and Iftar – Meals before dawn and post -sunset, respectively – often bring a slightly higher consumption of various food products.
Wajid Mehmood, director of Shikarpuri Sweets, the dessert shop where Shehzad bought Jalebi, said that if the overall cost of inputs had increased due to the rise in sugar prices, it had mainly affected the beneficiary margins.
“We buy around 10 to 12 bags per day, each weighing 50 kg, for our six branches. A bag currently costs us 8,500 rupees ($ 30). Before Ramadan, this cost us 7,800 rupees ($ 27) per bag,” he said.
However, Mehmood said that store owners had decided not to transmit the increased cost to customers during Ramadan.
“Perhaps the price will be a little increased to Eid,” he said, referring to the festive period following the month of fasting.
For some, like Muhammad Zahid, a juice supplier that has directed its stand on the roadside in the past 32 years, the price depends on a combination of factors, including increases in sugar and fruit prices, such as apples, bananas and oranges. During Ramadan, he has no customers during the day.
“With Ramadan, my sugar needs have naturally dropped, so my daily use is between two and three kilograms, which costs me 165 rupees ($ 0.59) per kilogram these days,” he said by cutting fruit.
Unlike the director of the Sweets store, Zahid said that the price of a glass of juice has fluctuated according to its total contribution cost – it cannot afford to stamp the customer for price changes.
“If you want a glass of banana juice, it will cost you 150 rupees ($ 0.54) because sugar and bananas are currently expensive,” he said. “But if you come after Ramadan, the price could fall to 130 rupees per glass.”
Price increase, he thinks, is partly because wholesale traders bring sugar to make profits at a time when they know that most consumers will buy it for their meals Iftar and Suhoor. He said he expects hoarding after Eid.
The government, for its part, said that it would try to contain the prices of sugar and ensure that hobby does not exploit the situation.
Vice-Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said earlier this week that the government would guarantee that the price of sugar did not exceed 164 rupees (0.59) per kilogram.
The gradual increase in sugar prices has been charged to hobby, which bought large amounts of sugar earlier when prices varied between 140 ($ 0.50) and 150 rupees ($ 0.54) per kilogram.
The total production of sugar from Pakistan for the current exercise, which will end in July 2025, is scheduled for 6.8 million tonnes, while consumption should be around 6.7 million tonnes.
Mohammad Rashid, owner of grocery store in Islamabad, said that his store is currently sold sugar at 168 rupees (0.60) per kilogram, an increase of 16 rupees ($ 0.06) compared to before Ramadan.
Bleamless an “artificial shortage” on the market, Rashid said that there was a slight reduction in sugar sales.
“We sold nearly 16 to 18 bags of 50 kg per day. But with Ramadan and the inflated price, our sales fell at around 12 to 14 bags per day,” he told Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, Pervez Kiran, who has directed his grocery store in Karachi in the past three decades, said that despite the price increase, it was unlikely that sugar consumption is significantly affected.
“It is an unimportable article, unlike milk, vegetables or fruit, which helps. Second, people here love sugar, even if it kills them. Our daily sales vary between 80 and 100 kg per day, and they remained the same, that we sold sugar at 150 rupees ($ 0.54) per kilogram or 170 rupees ($ 0.61) per kilogram, “said Al Jazera or 170 rupees ($ 0.61) per kilogram,” told Al Jazea or 170 Rupes ($ 0.61) kilogram, ”said Al Jazea or on the phone.
Naila Ahmer, a housewife in Karachi and a mother of five, agreed that for her family, sugar consumption has remained constant despite price fluctuations.
“Our family likes desserts, and during Ramadan, we make juices and drinks that require sugar. But our monthly purchase remains almost the same, between seven and 10 kg, as during the non-Ramadan months, we often make desserts, “she told Al Jazeera.
Back in Islamabad, Khan, from Charsadda in the northwest of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, explains how his family’s obsession for sugar increases during Ramadan.
She said that her husband, factory director on the outskirts of Islamabad, gives her about 50,000 rupees ($ 178) for grocery store each month, but during Ramadan, he increases the amount of 70,000 rupees ($ 250).
“We are currently building a small extension in our house, so a lot of money is going. But during Ramadan, we took a construction break due to additional expenses. We will wait for the end of the month before resuming the construction, but we will not stop buying sugar, “she said.
