Pakistan: Sugar mills seek government approval for sugar export

The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has renewed its plea to the government to authorize the export of 1.5 million metric tons of surplus sugar. This move, according to the association, could generate a billion dollars in foreign exchange for the country. In a statement issued here, the PSMA spokesman said that in the last meeting of SAB, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain has admitted the role of PSMA in keeping the sugar price at low levels. The sugar industry has been pleading with the government for quite some time to earnestly consider export of surplus sugar due to heavy losses incurred by the industry on account of increased production costs and carrying costs of surplus stocks of 2022-23 and 2023-24 crushing seasons. The continuous production of surplus sugar year after year, along with inadequate exports and domestic sales below the cost of production, had become unrealizable and nonviable for the industry. The poor condition of ...