KARACHI: Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan and President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Hussain has said sugar industry is facing negative and destructive propaganda which is also reflecting in critical decisions by authorities.
The price of sugar has not only increased but everything including flour, ghee, pulses, beef, mutton, etc has increased, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the PM should listen to the stance of the sugar millers as propaganda has disheartened investors and workers in the second biggest industrial sector.
A group of sugar mills owners told Mian Zahid Hussain that the sugar industry holds a share of Rs 484 billion in the GDP, it pays Rs 80 billion in taxes and Rs 359 billion to farmers and earns US 500 million dollars through the export of ethanol which can be increased to US three billion dollars.
They said that sales tax on sugar was increased from 8 percent to 17 percent in 2019-20 while the interest rates were high which contributed to high prices of the commodity but the industry was held responsible for the hike.
A subsidy of Rs 2.5 billion was given to sugar mills to export surplus sugar so that they can continue operations which balanced demand and supply position which was made an issue while the fact remains that government give subsidy on almost 700 items, said Mian Zahid Hussain.
He said that the government insisted to start crushing season well before the time when the crop was not ripe which resulted in losses to the tune of billions to the sugar industry and output was reduced by 1,67000 tonnes.
He noted that increased price of sugar is the result of enhanced sales tax, a free hand to middlemen, hoarders and profiteers.
The role of middlemen is important in the market mechanism but it should be made balanced while hoarding should be discouraged to reduce the price of sugar, he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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