Sugar mills seek approval to export 600,000 tonnes of surplus stock

The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has asked the federal government to immediately allow the export of 600,000 metric tonnes of surplus sugar, saying domestic stocks are sufficient to meet local demand.

In a letter to the Federal Minister for National Food Security, the association said total sugar stocks at the end of the current season stood at 7.967 million metric tonnes. After accounting for domestic consumption, it estimated the available surplus at 1.181 million metric tonnes.

PSMA also sought permission to export the remaining 550,000 tonnes at the start of the next crushing season.

The association said the proposed exports could generate around $575 million in foreign exchange.

It added that the government had not yet implemented its earlier commitment to permit exports of surplus sugar from the previous year.

PSMA said better payments to sugarcane growers had encouraged cultivation of improved varieties, raising expectations of a strong crop in the next crushing season. Sugar production is projected at around 8 million metric tonnes.

The association also argued that prevailing sugar prices were below production costs and urged the government to issue export approval without delay.