Govt approves sugar import of upto 500,000 tonnes to maintain ‘affordable prices’

The federal government on Tuesday approved the import of half a million tonnes of sugar in a bid to maintain affordable prices of the commodity.

A day earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had emphasised the need for a coordinated policy approach to ensure market stability for essential commodities and food items.

He chaired a committee meeting today to assess the sugar situation in the country and evaluate import requirements.

“The committee approved the import of up to 500,000 metric tonnes of sugar to ensure a stable supply and maintain affordable prices nationwide,” said a statement posted on X.

Dar stressed the government’s commitment towards “price stability and safeguarding consumer interests”, the statement said.

The meeting was attended by the food minister, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa, the secretary of the food ministry, senior officials from the Ministry of Industries and Production, and industry representatives.

The Ministry of National Food Security and Research said in a press release that the government would import sugar and all arrangements were complete, with immediate implementation being initiated.

“This step was taken to maintain balance in sugar prices. The approach to importing sugar represents a different and clearly better strategy than that of past governments. In the past, subsidies were often relied on to create an artificial shortage of sugar, burdening the national treasury. The current government decided to export sugar at a time when sugar was available in abundance,” the ministry said.

It added that sugar was now being imported to stabilise prices.

Last month, the Sugar Advisory Board approved the import of 500,000 tonnes of the commodity, amid concerns over supply chain disruptions and alleged non-compliance by millers.

In March, Dar said that retail sugar prices should not exceed Rs164 after the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) warned sugar mills against price manipulation. Dar said that according to news reports, there was a spike in sugar prices to Rs178 -179, which was “obviously not tolerable” to the prime minister.

The same month, the federal government had decided to import raw sugar to “stabilise prices” in the country.