LAHORE: The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (Punjab Zone) has once again requested the government to allow the export of 1.5 million metric tons of surplus sugar. This move could bring in one billion dollars in foreign exchange for the country.
In a recent meeting of the Sugar Advisory Board (SAB) in Islamabad, a PSMA spokesman mentioned that Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain, appreciated PSMA’s efforts to keep sugar prices stable.
The sugar industry has been asking the government to allow the export of surplus sugar due to high production costs and losses from holding onto extra stock from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 crushing seasons. Without exporting this surplus sugar, the industry finds it hard to continue operating.
Sugarcane farmers have also been affected as they now depend heavily on sugarcane crops after poor conditions affected their wheat, cotton, and maize crops. Although cane payments to farmers have been made regularly in the past, the current financial difficulties of the sugar industry due to excess stock have become too much to handle.
The PSMA is asking the Federal Government to permit the export of surplus sugar so that sugar mills can pay the sugarcane farmers. Delays in policy decisions have already cost the country $300 million in potential foreign exchange earnings as international sugar prices continue to fall.
The PSMA urges the government to allow the export of 1.2 million metric tons of surplus sugar by July 15, 2024, which is expected to increase to 1.5 million tons by the end of November. They also call for a long-term policy on the export of surplus sugar so that the sugar industry can continue to support the country’s economy.
