Pakistan decides to deregulate sugar industry: Media report
Pakistan is preparing to deregulate its sugar sector after 77 years, ending government control over prices, imports, and exports. The plan includes lifting the ban on new sugar mills. Meanwhile, Punjab and Sindh farmers have announced a boycott, demanding a Rs 600 per maund cane price and warning of drastic protests.
The Pakistan government has reportedly decided to end its 77-year control over sugar prices by deregulating the industry, ARY News reported on Monday, citing sources from the Ministry of National Food Security.
A formal proposal to deregulate the sugar sector has been prepared and is expected to be presented to the Prime Minister later this week. Federal Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain will brief the Prime Minister on the plan, as per the news report.
Under the deregulation plan, the government has also suggested lifting the ban on establishing new sugar mills, allowing private investors to set up additional units in an open-market framework. Once deregulated, the government will no longer regulate the import and export of sugar.
The official mechanism for fixing sugar prices will also be abolished, with prices determined solely by market forces, as per the news report. If approved, this decision is expected to transform the sugar sector into a fully market-driven industry, where supply and demand dictate retail and wholesale prices without state intervention.
Meanwhile, sugarcane farmers from Punjab and Sindh have announced in a Jirga that they will boycott supplying the crop to sugar mills due to low prices.
Farmers at the gathering warned they would not harvest the crop unless the government sets the per maund rate of sugarcane at Rs. 600. “We will set our standing crops on fire rather than be blackmailed by the sugar mills mafia,” the farmers declared.
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Source : Chinimandi
