Sugar millers seek approval for 1m tonnes of raw sugar imports

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s sugar millers have sought government approval to import 1 million metric tons of raw sugar for domestic refining and re-export, but officials have pushed back on the proposal, citing inadequate infrastructure and logistical hurdles, according to senior official who attended the discussions.

The proposal was tabled by the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) at a high-level meeting chaired by Federal Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain on Wednesday.

Officials said that the government, for now, has rejected the request but left the door open for a limited trial, saying a review will be conducted before a final decision is made.

“The committee is reluctant to move forward without ensuring the necessary infrastructure and refining capacity,” an official source told The News. “We don’t want to end up in a situation where we lack the means to refine it, and it becomes a burden on us.” However, the official said that the government is likely to start this re-export model from limited raw sugar import. The millers pointed to countries such as Yemen, Dubai, and Indonesia, where refineries process imported raw sugar in port cities before exporting the refined product. However, officials argued that Pakistan’s geography presents a challenge, as its sugar mills are located in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and interior Sindh, far from seaports, raising concerns about transportation costs and logistical inefficiencies.