Jaggery exporters demand withdrawal of ban

Traders argue export of commodity will not cause sugar shortage

KARACHI:

Traders have asked the sugar commissioner and Sugar Advisory Board members to recommend the lifting of ban on jaggery (gur) export in an upcoming meeting slated for July 20 as millers claim the country has produced surplus sugar. The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) has already recommended to the Ministry of Commerce to permit the export of jaggery. The federal government imposed the ban on jiggery export as sugar was being smuggled out of the country under the garb of jaggery shipments to Afghanistan.

“Jaggery is produced on a very small scale in Pakistan without the help of modern technology,” said Pakistan Businesses Forum (PBF) Vice President Ahmad Jawad. “On the contrary, jaggery is produced in India by the automated efficient plants and small sugar plants. Until we put proper processes in place with pure organic procedures, it will be difficult to increase exports,” he pointed out. Talking to The Express Tribune, Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) President Zulfikar Thaver claimed that the commerce ministry had acknowledged that the restriction on jaggery export was unintentional, which came into effect when the country faced shortage of sugar. He pointed out that sugarcane production stood at around 80 million tons while only about 8,000 tons of jaggery could be exported, which was not a big quantity and the two commodities had no comparison.

Hussain Ali Ratnani, a leading exporter of commodities, argued that jaggery was not a medicine or a staple food and export of 10,000 tons would not affect the domestic market. However, sugar is in surplus now and the government is considering allowing its export to fetch foreign exchange. The Unisame president stressed that the government should not be influenced by the sugar mafia and it should allow the export of jaggery. “Export of gur needs to be based on merit irrespective of the surplus or scarcity of sugar,” he remarked. The Lahore High Court has already passed an order, saying no provincial or federal government will create any impediment in the production of jaggery and raw sugar. Jawad pointed out that the sugarcane harvested in Peshawar-MardanCharsadda valley was diverted for commercial jaggery production and no sugarcane was available for crushing.

“We don’t have the technology to make our gur an attractive item in the market,” he said, adding that farmers needed equipment for making proper cubes as well as suitable packaging material. On the request of millers for the export of surplus sugar, the PBF official was of the view that there was no harm if the surplus sweetener was exported, which would facilitate the millers in making timely payments to sugarcane farmers. He, however, did not foresee a bumper crop in the upcoming harvesting of sugarcane because of a severe heat wave in the past two months and the drying of canals. “We hope the ongoing spell of rains may help to improve production.” “There is regular demand for gur from the Gulf, Middle Eastern and European countries,”

Thaver said, adding that India and China were exporting the commodity and earning handsome foreign exchange while Pakistan’s ministry was still mulling over it. “Gur comprises just 0.1% of the sugar production of 8 million tons per annum, so there is no comparison at all,” he remarked. Apart from that, “the price of jaggery is higher than the sugar rate, so there won’t be any effect”. Earlier, only 8,330 tons of jaggery was exported and if its export is allowed again, it is expected that about 10,000 tons will be shipped. “It’s a very small quantity as compared to 8 million tons of sugar production; there is no justification for stopping gur export.”