Sugar imports, exports: ‘Govt’s handling inflicts billions of rupees in losses’

KARACHI: Syed Aman Shah, Provincial Convener Balochistan of the Awam Pakistan Party, has said that the government’s manipulative handling of sugar imports and exports has inflicted billions of rupees in losses on the national exchequer and crushed the public under unbearable costs.

Syed Aman Shah said that when the government allowed sugar exports in October last year, it had decided that if the retail price of sugar exceeded Rs.145.15 per kg, exports would be halted immediately.

However, from December 2024 to February 2025, sugar continued to be exported while prices kept rising, yet exports were not stopped. Now, by allowing the import of 500,000 metric tons of sugar, the federal government has once again given the sugar mafia a license to fill their coffers and push the public deeper into misery.

He accused that the sugar was first hoarded artificially to raise prices and then sold it at exorbitant rates, making billions. The constant rise in sugar prices has now become a grave crisis. The real cause of this price surge is government incompetence, flawed policies, and its alliance with the sugar hoarders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025