Islamabad:
As a sugar crisis continues in the country, officials shared on Tuesday with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) the names of the 67 sugar factories exporting 750,000 tonnes of sugar worth RS111 billion to 21 countries in the past year.
During a PAC meeting led by Junaid Akbar, the industries and the production secretary said in 2023-24 Pakistan had a profit of 1.3 million tonnes, of which 790,000 tonnes were approved for export.
He said 1.9 million tons of sugar were still available in stock, which could last until November, adding that the sugar crushing season is running from November 15 to March 15.
Despite these figures, several committee members expressed dissatisfaction with the situation.
The Secretary of National Food Safety claimed that the average retail price of sugar was RS173 per year. Kg, but members, including Omar Ayub, said sugar was sold for more than RS200 in their constituencies.
Senator Fauzia Arshad reported that sugar was hardly available in the market and what was available was prohibitive to ordinary citizens.
PAC members strongly criticized the government’s inconsistent sugar policy – exporting sugar one year and importing it next. MNA Khawaja Shehraz Mehmood called it a “daylight robbery” and said the same companies earning huge profits from exports are now taking advantage of imports.
MNA Amir Dogar made direct accusations against political leaders and claimed that the highest number of sugar factories is owned by President Asif Ali Zardari, politician Jahangir Tareen and the Sharif family.
He claimed that RS287 billion had gone into the pockets of a few powerful individuals. The comments caused heated arguments between Dogar and other members, including Senator AFNAN Ullah of PML-N and Shazia Marri from PPP, who required such serious claims to be supported.
Further excitement arose when President Akbar questioned why the list of sugar factory owners and directors had not been submitted to the committee earlier.
Officials from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) assured that the list has now been obtained and will be presented soon. He questioned how long sugar remains useful in storage, as the industry secretary responded to sugar starting to destroy after 3-4 months, unless special precautions are taken.
The meeting was told that the government is planning to import 300,000 tonnes of sugar to meet demand before the next crushing season begins. Legislators demanded that the government ensures that this import does not harm farmers and that sugar is not brought in from countries where it was previously exported.
PAC ordered all relevant ministries to submit detailed reports and warned that future briefings would not be accepted without complete documentation.
According to documents seen by Express Pakinomist, JDW Sugar Mills topped the list by exporting 73,000 tonnes of sugar worth RS11.1 billion. Tandlianwala Sugar Mills came in second place with 41,412 tonnes worth RS5.98 billion.
Ramzan Sugar Mills exported sugar to a value of RS2.41 billion. Chaudhry Sugar Mills exported sugar to a value of RS1.49 billion, while Al-Arabia Sugar Mills exported RS1.2 billion worth of sugar. The auditor for Pakistan revealed that Sugar Mills earned over RS300 billion from recent sugar price fluctuations.
