Sugar mills without quality certificate make tender offers

Association says certificate only needed for packing bags.

KARACHI: The process for purchase of 200,000 tons of sugar from the mills is coming to a close despite the fact that the mills have not the necessary licence from Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and the certificate for maintenance of standards.

According to the tender, issued by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) for sugar purchase, the commodity and the bags used for packing should be according to PSQCA standards, but sources said the 32 sugar mills, which had submitted bids in response to the tender, did not have the required certification.

PSQCA has powers under the 1996 Act to confiscate the stock of commodities produced and sold without licence and it also has the authority to seal the places used for production and sale of such commodities.

Issues related to PSQCA marking fee, procedure for implementation of standards and specifications of sugar are currently being contested in the court.

However, the tender documents mentioned that these conditions were mandatory.

PSQCA sources told The Express Tribune that not a single mill out of 84 producing sugar in the country had the PSQCA licence and, therefore, the authority would not certify the quality of sugar produced by them. In the case of imports too, they said, sugar quality should be according to PSQCA standards, otherwise it could not be offloaded.

TCP sources said the quality of sugar being purchased through the tender would be checked before buying. They said the tender documents also mentioned the necessary specifications, including its sweetness, proportion of sulphur and other chemicals.

Sources said a special committee of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), headed by the finance secretary, was reviewing the offers received for supply of 200,000 tons of sugar and a final decision was expected in a few days.

Defending the mills, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association’s former chairman Iskandar Khan said the PSQCA’s certification did not deal with the quality of sugar, it only certified the colour of the commodity.

He said the association had approached the court to contest the procedure of certification, adding sugar produced by the mills was fit for human consumption.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th,  2011.