KARACHI: The minimum reserve price of USD660 per ton announced by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) for its sugar export tender could pose a major hurdle to the bidding process, as the price is significantly above prevailing international market levels and may discourage the potential bidders.
Following the federal government’s directives, TCP on September 6, 2026 issued a tender for the export of 107,739 metric tons of imported white refined sugar on an Ex-Works TCP Pipri Godown Karachi basis.
As per tender terms and conditions, bidders must submit their bids in USD per metric ton. However, only for the purpose of bidding through the e-Pak Acquisition & Disposal System (EPADS), bidders have been allowed to submit bids in PKR per MT on EPADS after converting the USD per MT price at the rate of 1USD = PKR 280. The transaction under the tender must be done in Foreign Exchange (in equivalent USD) through banking channels only.
READ MORE: Pakistan issues tender to export 107,739 tons sugar, traders say
As per directives, TCP has announced a uniform reserve price of PKR 184,800 per metric ton, equivalent to USD660 per metric ton, for all 11 lots, based on an exchange rate of USD1= PKR 280. The total reserve value of the 11 lots stands at PKR 19.91 billion, or USD71.1 million.
The prevailing international price of white refined sugar is currently around USD510 to USD520 per metric ton. Since TCP’s reserve price is significantly higher than the prevailing global market price, the corporation may face difficulties attracting bidders for the export of sugar, which was imported last year to prevent a shortage in the domestic market.
The higher reserve price for sugar export may discourage potential bidders from participating in the tender. The reserve price is at least USD 130 per metric ton higher than current international prices for white refined sugar, further widening the gap between the tender price and market rates.
Meanwhile, the state-run grain trader has extended the deadline for opening bids under its sugar export tender and reduced the required earnest money to facilitate greater participation in the bidding process.
TCP has issued a corrigendum for e-bids through EPADS v2.0 for sugar export and enhanced the bidding date by two days. Previously, the tender was being opened on Sep 28, 2026, while now bid submission deadline is hereby extended till 03:00 PM on 30th September, 2026.
In addition, earnest money (security) has been reduced from 10 percent to 2 percent. Initially, bidders were required to submit 10 percent earnest money for each lot, requiring a minimum security of Rs 184.8 million per lot. Now the bidders are required to submit Rs 36.960 million earnest money for each lot of sugar.
As per the tender’s terms and conditions, the bid must be valid for ten (10) working days from the date of opening the bids.
The earnest money of unsuccessful bidders shall be returned after contract award; for successful bidders, the security shall be retained as a performance guarantee, as per applicable PPRA Rules for Disposal of Public Assets.
The bidder will be required to pay in full either through advance payment or L/C at sight in Foreign Exchange through regular banking channels.
The successful bidder must lift the entire awarded or contracted quantity within Forty-Five (45) days of the contract award.
Failing this, TCP will charge a carrying cost of PKR 2/KG per month on any unlifted and unpaid quantities and may cancel the contract and forfeit the performance guarantee.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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