The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet has directed the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) to lift ‘substandard’ Indian sugar, imported by a trading company of Karachi and kept in storage for the last one year.
According to an official of the Ministry of Industries, the ECC took the decision in a recent meeting despite fierce resistance from the USC, which insisted that the sugar was substandard and infested with stones and foreign particles.
“After persistent persuasion for the last one year, the USC has agreed to accept only 700 tons of sugar on the grounds that the commodity has high moisture content,” the Ministry of Industries told the ECC, the highest economic decision-making body.
The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) had allegedly been pressing the USC to lift the sugar of Renuka brand worth over Rs52 million. It was imported by a trading company from Karachi after winning a TCP tender.
Sources in the Ministry of Industries told The Express Tribune that the TCP chief had come under fire in the ECC meeting for buying substandard Indian sugar. Almost all ECC members chastised the TCP chairman for the wrongdoing and he was even expelled from the meeting. The USC chief was also asked to leave the meeting.
At the same time, the ECC decided that the USC would lift the stock of Indian sugar to dispose of the sweetener.
Earlier in the meeting, the USC chief said the sugar had stones and foreign particles and the bags had no expiry date. In this situation, it would be difficult to satisfy consumers, who would not purchase the commodity, he said.
However, the commerce ministry defended the TCP in disposing of the sugar. The ministry told the ECC that laboratories of the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) had conducted tests and declared in its report that the sugar was not harmful for human health.
Despite repeated attempts, ECC Chairman and Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh did not respond to queries. His personal assistant was also not available for comments. USC managing director could not be reached for comments.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2012.
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