USC package: delivery orders for supply of 50,000 tons of sugar issued

Trading Cor-poration of Pakistan (TCP) has issued delivery orders for supply of 50,000 tons of sugar to Utility Stores Corporation (USC) to avert shortage during Ramazan.
Sources told Business Recorder on Wednesday that TCP has made special arrangements for continuous supply of sugar during Ramazan and as per demand of USC, it has started releasing stocks of procured sugar for the holy month, likely to commence on June 21.
Normally, USC needs monthly 40,000 to 45,000 tons of sugar for its stores across the country, however for Ramazan it has placed orders for an extra quantity as usually sugar demand increases during this month.
The USC has asked for a 75,000 tons sugar for Ramazan, some 25,000 tons higher than the monthly requirement, they said and added that out of total demand, in the first phase TCP has issued Delivery Orders (DOs) for supply of 50,000 tons of sugar in favor of USC. Delivery Orders of remaining quantity are in process and likely to be issued in a few days.
With issuance of these DOs, USC can take delivery of the commodity from any mill across the country, which has sold its stocks with TCP, they said.
"Delivery Orders are not for a specific mill and USC can take delivery from any province, where it needs supply," they added.
However, interestingly this year other departments including provincial food departments, CSD stores and armed forces have not made any request for sugar mainly due to easy availability of the commodity in the market.
TCP has procured some 678,000 tons of sugar during the sugar season 2011-12 to financially support the sugar millers, which were facing financial crunch followed by slow sales and low price in the domestic market.
As per the terms and conditions, the procured sugar has been stored in the godowns of sugar mills as shifting of sugar from mills to TCP godowns will put an additional millions of rupees burden on the exchequer.
Now this commodity is being supplied directly to the USC stores.
Despite the fact that TCP is providing massive quantity of the commodity to avert shortage, it seems that USC is unable to take deliveries mainly due to transport issue.
"Besides current demand of 75,000 tons of sugar, TCP has issued DOs for 208,269 tons of sugar out of which some 143,804 tons of sugar has been lifted by USC during March-June 2012," they added.
Under the Ramazan Package, USC has announced reduction in sugar prices by Rs 5 per kilogramme to provide the commodity at cheaper rates and increase its sales. With current decline, now the commodity will be available at Rs42 per kilogramme compared to Rs 47 per kilogramme on USC stores across the country.