Lahore: The Pakistan sugar industry claims that the data from ministries suggest that there is a surplus sugar stock of 2.0 million tonnes in the country which is not only sufficient for consumption but can be also exported to earn foreign exchange.
The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has rejected the statement of the Commerce ministry which states that there were only 0.4 million tonnes of surplus sugar available in the country.
A PSMA spokesperson released a statement saying that “As per the data of the Ministry of Industries & Production (MoI&P) and the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) there are 2.0 million tonnes of sugar stock in the country.
According to the minutes of the last meeting of the Sugar Advisory Board, the country had produced 7.8 million tonnes of sugar when the crushing season was in progress, he said. Adding to it the sugar produced from beetroot, the total sugar production goes to 8.1 million tonnes in the last crushing season. The sugar consumption is estimated to be 0.5 million tonnes per tonne taking it to a total of 6.1 million tonnes for the year. Hence there are 2.0 million tonnes of surplus sugar in the country, he stated.
