Pakistan issues international tender for additional 200,000 tonnes of white sugar

The  Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has launched a new international tender to procure 200,000 metric tonnes of white refined sugar, Reuters reported, citing European traders as saying. 

The new tender calls for fine, small, and medium grade sugar, all scheduled to arrive in Pakistan by October 31. The deadline for submission of price offers is August 21. 

In a previous tender, TCP purchased around 55,000 tonnes of white sugar out of a requested 100,000 tonnes, traders added.

The federal government has approved imports of 500,000 tonnes of sugar to stabilise domestic prices after retail rates surged. 

On the other hand, Business Recorder reported that the Ministry of Finance has cleared the import of sugar from Azerbaijan’s SOCAR under the condition that no financial liability falls on the federal budget, and any subsidy implication of the proposed import may be borne by the respective provinces. A deal has been finalised with SOCAR.

SOCAR offered 100,000 MT of medium-grain sugar at $570 per MT for Karachi and $575 per MT for Gwadar. TCP negotiated the price down to $559 per MT for the initial 100,000 MT, with a further reduction to $558 per MT if the order is increased to 200,000 MT.

The Cabinet approved the alternate procurement method under Section 42(c)(v) of PPRA Rules-2004, allowing TCP to import 200,000 MT. The first shipment is scheduled to arrive in Karachi by September 30, 2025, and the second by mid-October.

To avoid excessive accumulation of receivables and markup from previous imports, provincial governments may make upfront payments to TCP for this procurement.

The Finance Division recommended that the sugar imports be carried out in a phased manner to align with domestic demand and stabilise prices. A revised Cash Credit Limit (CCL) of Rs 461,477.222 million has been issued to TCP for the import of 500,000 MT, which includes an additional Rs 115 billion required for the procurement.