MoI&P empowered to take action against sugar mills amid price hikes

WEB DESK: The federal government has authorised the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoI&P) to take action against sugar mills if there is a significant increase in the wholesale price of sugar.

According to Mettis Global, the Industries and Production Division informed the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) that the Sugar Advisory Board (SAB) convened a meeting, chaired by the Federal Minister for Industries and Production.

During this meeting, the Board reviewed data provided by provincial authorities and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) regarding sugar stocks for the 2023-24 crushing season.

The data revealed that as of August 15, 2024, the current sugar stock stood at 2.773 million metric tonnes (MT). Over the past 8.5 months of the 2023-24 crushing season, total consumption reached 4.797 million MT.

Stakeholders agreed that in the remaining 3.5 months of the current season, sugar consumption is expected to follow the same pattern, amounting to approximately 1.974 million MT.

Considering the projected consumption and the anticipated export of 0.055 million MT from the remaining 0.150 million MT export quota, along with a possible export of 0.040 million MT to Tajikistan, the expected surplus sugar carryover into the next year would be around 0.704 million MT.

After thorough discussions, it was concluded that even if an additional export of 0.100 million MT is allowed, the opening inventory for the next cropping season, 2024-25, is projected to be 0.604 million MT, which exceeds the national consumption for one month.

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