ISLAMABAD – The Ministry of Industries will present a new calculation methodology for assessing domestic annual sugar consumption and demand at the Ministerial Committee meeting on sugar here today.
An official source informed that the Minister for Industries Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani has convened the ministerial committee meeting to review the current position of sugar stocks. Officials at the ministry would share their new sugar calculation methodology with representatives of federal ministries as well as provincial representatives.
It is important to mention that the Ministry of Industry has observed that the monthly sugar consumption assessed at 350,000 tonnes was actually 270,000 tonnes per month. This reduces the country’s annual sugar consumption by 1.0 million tonnes to 3.2 million tonnes per annum as compared to a projection of 4.2 million tonnes.
The committee will be briefed on the sugar production, the position of mills, imported sugar stocks, the import of raw and refined sugar by private sector and sale of sugar at the Utility Stores. The State Bank of Pakistan and FBR would give proposals to build strategic reserves of 700,000 tonnes.
The members of ministerial committee are agriculture minister, commerce minister, minister for petroleum and minister of state for economic affairs. Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Chairman Javed Kayani, deputy chairman planning commission, officials of SBP, FBR, finance division, MINFA, TCP chairman, USC MD and provincial food secretaries also attended the meeting.
