The decision of the Economic Co-ordination Committee of the Cabinet to lift a four year old ban on import of sugar from India, overly belated though it may appear to be, will inspire variously intrigued consumers with renewed hope of relief in the near future.
This should be all the more so, in view of the directive the ECC issued to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan for import of additional 100,000 tons of sugar at a cheaper price. Dr Ashfaq Hassan Khan, the Advisor to the Finance Ministry, recalled in a briefing that the ECC, while allowing import of raw and refined sugar a few weeks back, had not included India in the list of the countries from which imports could be made.
However, responding to suggestion that India has no surplus sugar, the Advisor is reported to have pointed out that 'Mafias' operating in the country were busy in spreading such disinformation.
Further, he averred that when Pakistan's private sector would import sugar from India, the transport cost being understandably lower than that on import from other countries, it would be made available to consumers at cheaper rates. As for the chances of TCP also importing sugar from India, he emphasised that it would buy sugar from wherever it would be available at cheaper rates.
More to this, dismissing fears about Indian sugar as baseless, he also brushed aside misconceptions by saying that India imports raw sugar, processes it and exports it to other countries.
Some idea of the pressures at work against the ECC's sane decision may be had from the sharp reaction of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, which promptly warned the government of significant delay in the commencement of the crushing season, because of unlimited import.
In short it argued against the decision to lift the ban on import of sugar from India, which it said would not be in the interest of the country. Reference, in this regard, may also be made to its contention that the country was facing a shortfall of only 500,000 tonnes of sugar, and that hoarders and sugar importers had succeeded in obtaining this decision by giving wrong figures to government high-ups.
Moreover, it has also alleged that Indian sugar has contents that cause a number of diseases, including cancer. It recalled that when the government had carried out a test on the Indian sugar in 2002, which had confirmed that Indian sugar was injurious to health. The PSMA blamed the vested interests, both in Pakistan and in India for pressing the government to allow import of sugar unfit for human consumption.
As for the mention of vested interests with regard to frequent changes in decisions related to sugar industry, it will noted that tongues have started wagging in this familiar fashion in view of domination of representatives of the growers and millers in the Parliament.
Doubts and misgivings, in this regard, can be attributed to the presence of some of them in the decision making forms. It will be recalled that Pakistan had banned imports from India in 2001, subsequent to PSMA's lament that cheaper Indian sugar was hurting domestic cane growers and millers alike. Now that, at long last, a decision has been taken that can prove instrumental in averting a crisis on the sugar front, the government would do well to ensure its strict implementation, in the larger interest of the national economy and the hard pressed consumer.
As for the future, it must concentrate on a holistic approach to impart resilience to the country's sugar economy in accordance with its strong potential.
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