Islamabad, August 14, 2024 — The Sugar Advisory Board (SAB) has approved the export of 40,000 metric tons of sugar to Tajikistan. This decision was made after receiving approval from the Cabinet’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC).
The meeting, chaired by Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain, also addressed several key issues. The SAB has instructed the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) to quickly pay outstanding amounts to sugarcane growers. Additionally, local district governments will now set the retail price of sugar.
Pakistan currently has 2.8 million tons of sugar in stock. The SAB also suggested extending the export period from 45 days to 60 days.
PSMA representatives said there has been no increase in the ex-mills price of sugar, and this has not affected the retail price. They called on the government to help keep retail prices stable, stating that the PSMA does not control these prices.
This export approval follows a previous decision in June 2024, when the government allowed the export of 150,000 tons of sugar, provided that local stocks remained adequate to keep prices stable.
The latest approval contrasts with a decision in January 2023 by the previous government, which allowed the export of 250,000 tons of sugar. This led to a sharp rise in domestic sugar prices, which climbed from Rs100 per kg to Rs220 per kg by August 2023. By late August 2023, national sugar reserves had fallen to 2.3 million tons, which was not enough to meet demand until the next season.
