Private Pakistani buyers have bought a few cargoes of Chinese white sugar for shipment in July and August, traders said on Friday. They said one deal had been done to ship 12,000-13,000 tonnes of bagged white sugar from southern China to Pakistan from July 15-25 at a freight rate in the low 330 dollars per tonne, and that another merchant was seeking freight quotes to move 25,000 tonnes of bagged whites from south China to Karachi in August.
One trader said a further deal had been agreed to ship 15,000 tonnes of Chinese white sugar to Pakistan in August at 333 dollars per tonne Cost and Freight and Free Out (CFFO). There was no immediate official confirmation.
"Pakistanis are in the market and will buy quantities of whites. Traders are seeking where to source it from," one London freight broker said.
A European sugar broker said Chinese white sugar sales to private Pakistani buyers could total some 100,000 tonnes for July/August shipment, quoting 355 dollars per tonne cost and freight (C&F) Karachi.
The state-run Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) this week announced a tender to buy 100,000 tonnes of white sugar, with shipment due in August and September and bids to be submitted by July 15.
Pakistan, facing a sugar shortage, has been buying the commodity from international markets since January and has imported more than 500,000 tonnes of refined and raw sugar to check runaway prices.
A London shipping broker also talked of enquiries to ship Thai white sugar to Pakistan.