PM Shehbaz against surge in sugar prices, says ECC to deliberate on sugar import
Business
Premier told nearly 40 sugar mills teetering on brink of closure due to financial constraints
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stated that any increase in sugar prices is unacceptable and the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) will decide on its import.
The premier presided over a special meeting held to review matters related to sugar importation on Thursday.
Officials briefed the prime minister that failure to commence crushing would pose a crisis for sugar mills in the forthcoming season.
It was brought to his attention that nearly 40 sugar mills were on the verge of closure due to financial constraints.
It was disclosed during the briefing that sugar mills had disbursed Rs760 billion out of Rs800 billion to sugarcane growers for the current season's crop, with Rs40 billion still outstanding.
The meeting learned that if sugar imports were not initiated, sugar mills would be unable to commence crushing in November.
Officials highlighted that there was an excess of 1.5 million tonnes of sugar in the country, and exporting 500,000 tonnes of sugar could yield a revenue of $260 million.
During the session, PM Shehbaz affirmed that the Economic Coordination Committee would decide on sugar imports.
He directed the committee to evaluate China's stock and assess the global market.
The prime minister emphasised that any escalation in sugar prices was unacceptable, and instructed sugar mills to maintain sugar supply at Rs140 per kilogram throughout the year.
