Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has asked Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) to ensure payment of all dues. He was talking to a PSMA delegation in Islamabad on Saturday. The Finance Minister said the issues facing the sugar industry would be given due consideration but the industry should also keep in mind the welfare of farmers and consumers.
The delegation sought Minister''s attention to resolve sugar industry''s issues. The delegation said that due to a surplus stock of sugar to the tune of 1.2 million tons, they had no option but to export this commodity to avoid massive losses and ensure payments to sugarcane growers.
They further said that a regulatory duty on the import of sugar should also be levied to help the domestic industry. The delegation also drew Finance Minister''s attention to the clearance of TDAP-related cases. The Minister for Food Security, Sikandar Hayat Bosan pointed out that while the issues raised by the delegation deserved consideration, the sugar mills also had some obligations to fulfil. Some of them had not been making payments to sugarcane farmers for as many as four years. He also pointed out that the sugar mills had been extending dates for initiation of sugarcane crushing process every year which should be avoided in future and that crushing must start by 15th November as it would help timely sowing of wheat.
The Finance Minister asked the delegation to ensure timely payment to farmers and initiation of crushing process. Dar entrusted the Ministry of Commerce with a task to prepare and submit a summary to the ECC encompassing all legitimate demands of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA). He said an appropriate decision regarding permission to sugar mills to export sugar as well as other issues would be taken by the ECC. Commerce Minister, Khurrum Dastgir Khan, Minster for National Food Security, Sikandar Hayat Bosan and other senior officials attended the meeting.
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