ISLAMABAD: The meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has revised conditions regarding mode of payment and time period for realisation of export proceeds of sugar and decided that cane commissioner Punjab would allocate quota of sugar to the exporters.
The meeting of the ECC presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday allowed Provincial Cane Commissioners Punjab as in the case of Sindh to allocate quota within seven days after the issuance of notification and export of sugar within 45 days of allocation of the quota.
The ECC also decided that export proceeds would be received either in advance through banking channel, or within a period of 60 days of opening of Letter of Credit (LC) for export of sugar on a summary moved by the Ministry of Commerce.
Ministries, provinces: MoC conveys sugar export mechanism
The meeting was informed that the ECC has already allowed export of a total of 250,000 metric tonnes of sugar on January 3, 2023. However, certain queries have been raised by the stakeholders in the process of export of sugar.
The meeting was further informed that the SBP has highlighted that the ECC’s decision does not specify any timeline for shipment of the export consignment after approval of quota. It poses the risk that exporters may avail quota but not execute the transaction, or may stretch it beyond the timeframe of two months. The SBP has, therefore, recommended that shipment of consignment be ensured within 30 days of quota allocation. In addition, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association - Pujnab Zone (PSMA-PZ) has also requested that quota for export of sugar may be allocated through Cane Commissioner Punjab as done in the case of Sindh.
The ECC meeting after detailed discussion approved the revised conditions that (i) export proceeds shall be received either in advance through banking channel, or within a period of 60 days of opening of LC for export of sugar; (ii) the exporter shall ensure that the consignment is shipped within 30 days of quota allocation; (iii) quota for export of sugar may be allocated from already decided provincial quota, through Provincial Cane Commissioner, Punjab, as already approved by the ECC in case of Sindh.
The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar, Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Syed Murtaza Mahmud, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr Aisha Ghous Pasha, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi former prime minister and member of National Assembly, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance Tariq Bajwa, SAPM on government effectiveness Dr Muhammad Jehanzeb Khan, Coordinator to Prime Minister on Commerce and Industry Rana Ihsan Afzal, Governor SBP, federal secretaries, and other senior officers.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023