Curbs on sugar supply to spark shortage

Millers complain sales being hit by closure of FBR's S-Track portal

LAHORE:

The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has written a letter to Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb and Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain, saying that for the past few days, reports have been received from sugar mills located in Punjab and Sindh that procurement of the sweetener from the mills is being severely affected due to the closure of FBR's S-Track portal.

In a statement, a PSMA spokesman cautioned that if undue restrictions were placed on the supply of sugar, it would lead to shortage in the market, which would result in an increase in prices. Owing to the closure of the S-Track portal during September and the recent week, most mills were unable to dispatch sugar to markets, which caused price hike.

According to reports, for the past several days, most of the sugar mills located in southern Punjab and interior Sindh are not being allowed to supply the commodity to the market and the Federal Board of Revenue's representatives present in the mills are stopping the receipt of cargo at factory gates.

"The repeated closure of the S-Track portal has now become a routine, which was previously unimaginable," the spokesman said.

It has also been revealed that most of the FBR officials responsible for running the portal have disappeared and at some places, passwords of the portal have been changed. "This makes it clear that the portal is being deliberately blocked to facilitate the sale of imported sugar by waiving all duties and taxes worth around Rs8 billion," he said.

"Stopping the purchase of local sugar and facilitating the sale of $200 million worth of imported sugar is tantamount to depriving the industry of competition." The spokesperson voiced fear that such a policy could lead to a severe crisis in the market as the restriction would cause the disappearance of the sweetener and had already triggered an increase in prices, for which the industry could not be blamed.