ECC Approves Conditional Export of 100,000 MT Sugar

Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet at the Finance Division today. The committee approved the summary of the Ministry of Industries & Production regarding the export of further 0.100 million MT of sugar with the following conditions: Given procedural delays encountered during the export of sugar, the period allowed for the export of sugar from the date of allocation of quota by the respective Cane Commissioner shall be extended from forty-five (45) days to sixty (60) days. Export proceeds shall be received in advance in the case of Afghanistan only through banking channels however, export proceeds in the case of LC may be allowed within 60 days of the opening of LC for the export of sugar to other destinations. Benchmark for the Retail Price of sugar may be delinked from the permission to export sugar as the retail price is not directly under the control of sugar mills. Lastly, the condition of revoking of export quota in case of non-payment of dues of the growers from proceeds of export of sugar shall apply only to the non-compliant mills rather than PMSA as a whole. The committee decided to monitor the market situation on a monthly basis and review its decision as per emerging needs, and instructed the Sugar Advisory Board to develop a comprehensive sugar policy within two months to address the sector’s challenges and ensure sustainable growth. The meeting was attended by the Minister for Industries & Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Minister for Privatization Abdul Aleem Khan, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Petroleum Mussadiq Masood Malik, Minister for Power Sardar Awais Khan Leghari, Dy Chairman Planning Commission, Federal Secretaries, and other senior officials of the relevant ministries.