Islamabad:
As a sugar crisis persists in the country, officials shared Tuesday with the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) the names of the 67 sugar factories that exported 750,000 tons of sugar worth RS111 billion to 21 countries during the last year.
During a PAC meeting chaired by Junaid Akbar, the Secretary of Industries and Production said that in 2023-24 Pakistan had a sugar surplus of 1.3 million tons, of which 790,000 tons were approved for export.
He said that 1.9 million tons of sugar were still available in stock, which could last until November, adding that the sugar crushing season extends from November 15 to March 15.
Despite these figures, several members of the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the situation.
The Secretary of the National Food Security said that the average retail price of sugar was RS173 per kg, but the members, including Omar Ayub, said the sugar was sold for more than RS200 in its constituencies.
Senator Fauzia Arshad reported that sugar was almost not available in the market and what was available was unaffordable for common citizens.
PAC members strongly criticized government sugar policies, exporting sugar for a year and imports it to the next. MNA Khawaja Shehraz Mehmood described him as a “theft of daylight” and said that the same companies that obtain enormous export profits are now benefiting from imports.
MNA Amir Dogar made direct accusations against political leaders, claiming that the largest number of sugar factories is owned by President Asif Ali Zardari, politician Jahangir Tareen and the Sharif family.
He claimed that RS287 billion had entered the pockets of some powerful people. The comments caused heated arguments between Dogar and other members, including Senator AFNAN ULLAH of PML-N and SHAZIA MARRI of the PPP, who demanded that such serious claims were backed with evidence.
A greater tension arose when President Akbar questioned why the list of owners and directors of the sugar factories had not been presented to the committee before.
The officials of the Federal Income Board (FBR) said the list has been obtained and will soon be presented. He questioned how long sugar can be used in storage, to which the Secretary of Industries replied that sugar begins to spoil after 3-4 months unless special precautions are taken.
It was told to the meeting that the Government plans to import 300,000 tons of sugar to meet the demand before it begins the next season of crushing. Legislators demanded that the government make sure that this import does not damage farmers and that sugar is not brought from countries where it was previously exported.
The PAC ordered all relevant ministries to submit detailed reports and warned that future informative sessions would not be accepted without complete documentation.
According to the documents seen by the Express PAkGazette, JDW Sugar Mills led the list exporting 73,000 metric tons of sugar worth RS11.1 billion. Tandlianwala Sugar Mills was second with 41,412 metric tons worth RS5.98 billion.
Ramzan Sugar Mills exported sugar worth RS2.41 billion. Chaudhry Sugar Mills exported sugar worth RS1,49 billion, while Al-Arabia Sugar Mills exported sugar worth RS1.2 billion. The Pakistan general auditor revealed that sugar factories obtained more than 300 billion rupees of recent sugar price fluctuations.
