Once again, PSMA urges govt to allow export of ‘surplus’ sugar

LAHORE: The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has once again asked the government to allow early export of 1.5MMT of surplus sugar as only 60 to 90 days are left for the next crushing season to begin so that mills have space to store sugar produced in the coming season.

The PSMA also clarified certain news items published in a section of media on increase in sugar prices from a benchmark fixed by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and claimed that the ex-mill sugar prices have not exceeded the government’s declared limit of Rs140 per kg as was put up in meeting of Cabinet Committee on Monitoring of Sugar Export held on August 01, 2024, duly endorsed and appreciated by the Ministry of Industries and Production after getting its confirmation from provincial governments.

All sugar mills have fully complied with the commitment given by the PSMA before the final approval of the government on the export of 0.15 million tons of sugar.

The Association, however, said that the net impact of Withholding Income Tax U/S 236G of ITO 2001 recently enhanced in the budget by the federal government of Rs2.52 per kg needs to be added in the ex-mill price benchmark.

The PSMA spokesman said the sugar industry despite suffering huge losses in billions due to increased costs of production of sugar and paying capital costs of keeping surplus stocks is striving hard to meet the expectations of the government, local consumers and sugarcane farmers but the recurring heavy losses to the industry are becoming unmanageable.

The PSMA reiterates its request to the government to allow early export of 1.5MMT of surplus sugar as only 60 to 90 days are left for the next crushing season to begin and it is in the national interest to get all surplus stocks cleared so that mills have space to store sugar produced in the coming season.

Any delay will not only damage the industry but farmers as well besides depriving the country of much-needed foreign exchange.

Timely decisions will enable the sugar industry to meet local demand for sugar and keep contributing foreign exchange to the country’s agricultural and national economy by exporting the surplus, the spokesman concluded.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024