Govt to enforce sugar price, CS tells millers
Industries Ministry pleaded the ECC that the Finance Division should arrange foreign exchange of $110 million for the import of 200,000 metric tons of sugar. PHOTO: FILE
Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal has said the provincial government would ensure the implementation of the ex-mill and retail price of sugar in any case.
During a meeting with a six-member delegation of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association at the Civil Secretariat, the chief secretary said the sale of sugar over Rs90 per kilogramme will not be allowed. He mentioned that safeguarding public interest was the prime responsibility of the government.
The CS asked the sugar mills owners to ensure timely payment of sugarcane to the farmers without any deductions, besides providing the required information about crushing and stocks in the database regularly. He also issued directions regarding action against middlemen and illegal weigh stations involved in the purchase of sugarcane. He said that 12 illegal weigh stations were removed in Layyah.
The chief secretary said the sugar mills association must play its role for stability in the price of sugar, adding that the industrialists should work hand in hand with the government for the development of the country. Association Chairman Zaka Ashraf briefed the chief secretary about the problems of the sugar industry.
The delegation included Hassan Iqbal, Mian Rashid, Chaudhry Aslam, Muhammad Rafiq, and Muhammad Aslam while administrative secretaries of food, agriculture, and industries and cane commissioner Punjab were also present on the occasion.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2021.