Govt reviews sugar price enforcement today

LAHORE: The federal government has convened an important meeting on Monday (today) to assess the execution of an agreement between the government and Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) on the sugar pricing formula.

The meeting follows an unruly week marked by sugar short supplies, causing prices to soar to nearly Rs190 per kg. The alleged low supply of commodity by the sugar mills drove the prices high despite the fact that both the federal government and sugar mill owners inked an agreement on July 14, 2025 to mutually fix the price of sweetener at an agreed level. Traders warn that sugar stock is going to exhaust if mills fail to supply sugar at Rs165 per kg.

Federal Minister for Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain is scheduled to lead Monday’s meeting, which includes significant stakeholders such as the secretary industries, chairman FBR, chairman Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, director general FIA and cane commissioners from all the four provinces.

The purpose of the meeting is to review the “Implementation Status of the Agreement’’ between the government and PSMA dated 14th July 2025, regarding sugar prices.

According to the last report of Punjab Agriculture Economic Department, except a few wholesale markets in the province, the agreed ex-mill sugar price of Rs165 per kg was not being followed anywhere close at a dozen major markets.

In such a messy situation, the government’s objective of holding the moot is to engage stakeholders for stabilizing the sugar prices and promote fair trading practices. Through this meeting, they aim to tackle the ongoing crisis and discover a sustainable resolution for the sugar sector.

Meanwhile, the sugar dealers have blamed the mill owners for not supplying sugar at the agreed prices. Over the past several days, most of the sugar lifted from the mills is actually the dealers previously purchased stock. However, the mills are incorrectly reporting this as their sales. They’re issuing invoices at Rs165 per kg for the dealers stock, making it seem like they’re selling at that price, alleged dealers.

Now mills on the other hand purportedly imposed a condition to deal with only dealers who have a Sales Tax Registration Number (STRN). However, the dealers termed it a move not to provide sugar at the rates prescribed by the government.

On the contrary, market insiders claimed that the mills are loading the dealers’ already bought stock as per old practice without STRN. As many as 80 to 90 percent of the sugar trade goes on without STRN to non-commercial users as a common practice since the last 78 years.

Responding to queries about slow lifting of sugar by mills, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Chairman Zaka Ashraf stated that all activities on the premises of respective factories are being monitored by the Federal Board of Revenue and the Intelligence Bureau. Furthermore, he added, teams from the district administration have also been assigned to oversee the situation.

Emphasising the PSMA’s demand, he noted that the mills cannot function as a business until the government ultimately deregulates this sector.