PSMA plea for sugar export rejected

Sugar Advisory Board tells mills to start crushing season on Nov 21

ISLAMABAD:

The government on Thursday declined a request from the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) for exporting 500,000 tons additional sugar in December, saying that the permission could not be granted until the first export quota was fulfilled.

The Sugar Advisory Board, in a meeting, chaired by Industries Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, decided that all the sugar mills across the country would begin the sugarcane crushing from November 21 and warned of strict action in case of non-compliance with the deadline.

During the meeting, the PSMA sought permission for additional sugar export. In the short term, the mills called for ensuring that the sugar industry continued to generate exportable surpluses. They said that it was crucial to immediately allow the export of 500,000 tons of sugar with a 180-day timeframe.

The PSMA also proposed to the government that China had an annual import demand of 6 million tons. They requested the government to facilitate export through government-to-government (G2G) or government-to-business (G2B) agreements, according to a press release.

Under a long term strategy, the mills said that there should be total deregulation of the sugar industry by abolishing the Sugarcane Act and removing sugar from the list of essential commodities. This would allow the industry to operate under the principles of a completely free market.

However, the industries minister clarified that the government could not grant further permission until the first export quota had been fulfilled. Later, the meeting took stock of the overall sugar stock situation across the country for the upcoming crushing season.

The meeting was informed that 1 million tons of sugar stock would be available as of November 21, 2024. It was also estimated that sugar exports had been estimated at 75,000 tons from November 1 to 21, 2024.

The meeting, also attended by Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, also reviewed the estimates for the sugarcane crop. It expressed satisfaction with the current sugar prices in the local market. Rana Tanveer highlighted the trend of declining sugar prices in the local market.

It was decided that all sugar mills must begin crushing on November 21. It warned that action would be taken against those mills which failed to start crushing by the 21st. Rana Tanveer said that if the mills failed to pay their dues to the farmers, their export licences would be revoked.