The talks on sugar export continue to be stuck in a stalemate.
The government has made the decision to have a third party examine all of the accessible stock.
ISLAMABAD: The impasse that has developed between the government and the sugar mills over the issue of export permission for sugar continued on Thursday, as the relevant authorities decided to have a third party conduct an audit of the stock that is currently available in the country, much to the chagrin of the owners of the sugar mills.
Despite the fact that the government of Punjab believed that a significant amount of sugar was available, the most recent round of negotiations resulted in no significant progress being made on the export of sugar. Following the discussion, Food Security Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema stated that there was not enough information to make a judgement about the export of sugar.
“The export has not been authorised by the authorities. Today, the government of Punjab reversed its position completely from its first stance. Earlier it was stated that the stockpiles of sugar were low and that is why the export should not be allowed, but today it is of the opinion that sugar is accessible in big numbers,” Cheema said. “The export should not be authorised because sugar stocks are low.”
Cheema reported that the mills had provided a solution to the problem they were having. However, the Minister of Commerce Naveed Qamar stated that the impasse would not be broken as long as the sugar stock position remained the primary concern. As a result of this, he continued, an audit of the stocks would be carried out by a third party.
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“During the course of the discussion, it was decided that the owners of sugar mills would be responsible for submitting the stock details. The information will be submitted by the owners of sugar mills on December 2nd. After the stocks situation has been checked by the third-party side, the decision about whether or not to allow the export of sugar will then be made, he continued.
Zaka Ashraf, speaking on behalf of the sugar mills, stated that the government had not yet given them authorization to export the sugar. He was speaking on behalf of the sugar mills. In reference to the events that transpired at the conference, he stated that the government had forced them to chase the tail light of a long road.
“Sugar mill owners and operators are going to get together. Ashraf explained that the mills have not yet gone on strike; rather, mills in the provinces of Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are waiting for clearance from the government to export sugar. He went on to say that mills were experiencing serious difficulties due to the fact that each day they lose Rs100 million.
