The government is likely to allow the export of 0.5 million tons of sugar and impose a 25 percent Regulatory Duty (RD) on import aimed at helping out sugar industry purportedly facing a financial crisis, well informed sources in Commerce Ministry told Business Recorder. The sources said Commerce Ministry has prepared a summary for the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet to be discussed in its forthcoming meeting on the instructions of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
On November 1, 2014, a delegation of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) met the Finance Minister and sought his help to resolve issues facing the sugar industry. According to sources, the delegation claimed that due to a surplus stock of sugar to the tune of 1.2 million tons, the industry had no other option but to export sugar to avoid incurring losses and ensure payments to sugarcane growers. Sugar industry requested that a regulatory duty on 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 sources said the Finance Minister assured the sugar industry that their issues would be given due consideration. He entrusted the Ministry of Commerce with the task of preparing and submitting a summary to the ECC that would consist of genuine demands of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association. The Finance Minister also assured the sugar industry that an appropriate decision regarding permission to sugar mills for the export of sugar as well as other issues would be taken by the ECC. "We have collected all the essential details of statistics to support the summary at the ECC level," the sources maintained.
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