Special cabinet body to monitor sugar export

Cabinet Division has issued a notification for the establishment of the committee

By Our Correspondent

June 27, 2024

Workers prepare sugar bags to be distributed to people in need, ahead of the Holy month of Ramadan at a warehouse in Islamabad, Pakistan. — AFP/File

ISLAMABAD: After the federal cabinet approved the export of 150,000 metric tonnes of sugar, a special committee of the cabinet has been set up to monitor the process.

The Cabinet Division has issued a notification for the establishment of the committee. The convener of the committee will be Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik. Other members include Minister for Privatization Abdul Aleem Khan, Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Minister for Industries and Production and Food Rana Tanveer Hussain and Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervez Malik.

The TORs of the committee have also been issued. It will have two meetings in a week. It will review both the ex-mill rate and retail rate of sugar, especially keeping an eye on the price hike. The ex-mill rate of sugar will not increase by more than Rs140/kg.

The committee will coordinate with the provinces for monitoring the ex-mill and retail prices. If the ex-mill price of sugar rises above Rs140/kg or the retail price rises above the June 13 SPI by Rs2 extra, the committee will immediately ask the Ministry of Industries and Production and Ministry of Commerce to stop the export of sugar. It will also monitor the implementation of ECC decision of June 13, which was approved by the cabinet on June 25. According to the decision, the mill owners will spend the money earned from the sugar export to pay the dues of farmers. The provinces will monitor that dues have been paid to growers and report it to the Sugar Advisory Board.

The Ministry of Industries and Production will ensure that the sugar export quota to the provinces is in accordance with the current year’s production. This allocation will be made on the basis of stocks as of June 5. The cabinet committee will regularly keep the federal government informed about the demand and supply of sugar and situation of sugar prices. The Cabinet Division has issued a separate notification directing the cabinet committee to also monitor that no more than 150,000 tonnes of sugar is exported.