LAHORE: The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has written letters to Deputy Prime Minister Senator Ishaq Dar and Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain, requesting the government to allow export of surplus sugar.
As per the contents of the letters, there are 3.4 million metric tons of sugar stocks in the country as of July 15, 2026, reconciled and agreed upon by the FBR and the sugar industry, while the average monthly consumption is 567,426 metric tons. Hence, by the start of the new crushing season 2026-27 on November 15, the country will hold a massive surplus stock of 1.158 million metric tons of sugar.
A bumper sugarcane crop is expected again in the upcoming crushing season, which will again result in the production of 8 million metric tons of sugar, an amount for exceeding domestic requirements.
A PSMA spokesperson has expressed deep concern over the uncertainty facing sugarcane farmers as the September sowing season approaches; they are worried because large quantity of surplus sugar is still in mill warehouses, and until this stock is exported, mills will be unable to purchase more cane from them or offer better rates.
Better and timely payments to sugarcane growers over the past two years have encouraged them to cultivate better varieties of sugarcane, resulting in a significant increase in per-acre yield and sugar content. A good sugarcane crop is expected in the upcoming crushing season, resulting in surplus sugar production.
However, this will only be possible if the export of current surplus sugar provides farmers with the incentive to cultivate the new crop otherwise, sugarcane cultivation and sugar production will decline in the coming years, and sugar will have to be imported at the cost of valuable foreign exchange.
The sugar industry is currently facing the challenge of holding large stocks of sugar while demand remains very low. Current sugar prices are far below production costs, whereas the costs of sugarcane and other inputs are rising every year.
Due to unsold stocks, the sugar industry is facing severe shortage of funds for repaying bank loans. In the light of reconciled figures, it is requested the government to immediately grant permission to export 585,000 tonnes of surplus sugar and later authorize the export of stocks held in strategic reserves within one month of the commencement of the upcoming crushing season, the PSMA pleaded.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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