Sugar Export Postponed
The decision to export 250,000 metric tons of sugar has been postponed by the caretaker government. Caretaker Industries and Production Minister Dr. Gohar Ijaz chaired a meeting of the Sugar Advisory Board (SAB) to discuss the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association’s (PSMA) request to export excess sugar.
Sugar mill owners, during the meeting, requested permission to export 250,000 metric tons of surplus sugar.
The advisory board, deferring the decision until Thursday, instructed sugar mill owners to provide details of their sugar stock by the next meeting. The PSMA claimed to have 1.13 million metric tons of sugar in stock, exceeding the country’s annual requirement of approximately 0.7 million metric tons.
It is noteworthy that sugar exports in FY23 amounted to 215,751 tonnes, generating $104 million, compared to no exports in FY22. Exports in the July-September quarter of 2023-24 were 35,102 tonnes, earning $21 million, as opposed to zero exports in the corresponding quarter of FY23.
The board also approved the Minimum Purchase Price (MPP) for sugarcane at Rs425 per 40 kg for Sindh and Rs400 per 40 kg for Punjab for the crushing season 2023-24. The meeting highlighted that the sugar crushing season had already commenced in Sindh and would start in Punjab on November 25.
The previous government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had permitted the export of 250,000 metric tons of sugar in December 2022, with the condition that the local sugar market’s price would not exceed Rs100 per kg. However, despite this condition, sugar prices reached an all-time high of Rs200 per kg earlier this year following the sugar export.
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