ISLAMABAD: Agriculture experts emphasized on the strict checking at border areas to control smuggling of essential commodities particularly sugar to ensure smooth supply in the domestic market.
Talking to media here on Friday, Khan Faraz, Former Secretary, Pakistan Tobacco Board and agriculture expert said that sugarcane is an important cash crop of Pakistan, grown on a large area of the country.
He further said that sugar production is reportedly rose by 05 percent in the first three months of the 2023-24 crushing season, despite a late start and lower estimates of sugarcane output.
The country produced 2.252 million tonnes of sugar in the ongoing crushing season till December 2023, compared with 2.143 million tonnes in the same period a year earlier, showing 0.108 million tonnes or five percent more manufacturing of sweetener this year.
Market insiders insisted that sugar production in 2023-24 season would be sufficient to meet national demand provided that strict check and balance were maintained on the sugar supply chain. They particularly emphasized the strictest possible curbs on the smuggling of the commodity. However, the interim government’s ban on the export of sugar was a step in the right direction and it should be continued in letter and spirit with a view to effectively meeting domestic demand, Faraz added.
He further said that a number of sugar mills have been established for the manufacture of sugar from sugarcane grown in the country. Also, some portion of the crop is used for the production of “Gur” (Jaggery) especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The sugar industry is the second largest agriculture based industry after textile.
Sugarcane is largely grown in the province of Punjab with the production share of almost 68 percent, followed by Sindh with a share of approximately 25 percent and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s small share of about 8.0 percent.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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