Powerful sugar millers in the country who successfully convinced the government to allow export of sugar recently have also got their products approved by Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), without going through license and certification process. PSQCA, the only government institution to approve the standard and quality of at least 78 compulsory items, has bowed down before Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) which has not recognised the certificates, posting a question mark over the importance and worth of the authority. Though the samples of refined white sugar has not been referred to PSQCA by PSMA itself, the products of over a dozen mills forwarded by Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) for lab test have been approved by the authority recently despite of the fact that certification and licensing matter was in court as PSMA had obtained a court’s stay.
Issues related to PSQCA marking fee, procedure for implementation of standards and specifications of sugar were currently being contested in the court by both parties PSQCA and PSMA. However, official sources at PSQCA claimed that the certification was a different process while the authority was to test the quality and standard of any product forwarded to it. Interestingly, PSQCA in a letter sent to TCP dated November 11,2011 has requested the corporation to ensure the that the refined and white sugar is purchased from the valid licencee of the authority and purchased quantity of product must be in compliance to Standard Mark PS:1822:2007 in addition t other quality parameters of PSQCA. According to sources PSQCA earlier was reluctant to test and approve the products of the local sugar mills as a single mill out of 84 producing sugar in the country had not the PSQCA licence. The authority as per government rules was inspecting the quality of imported sugars.
However, under the immense pressure of powerful sugar millers some of them enjoying are enjoying important positions in both government and opposition parties, PSQCA was not only making lab test of the locally produced refined and white sugar but also inspecting the polypropylene bags with an inner polythene lining mandatory for sugar packing under the government rules.
According to a recently released statement of TCP, all mills were visited /inspected by its surveyors out of which lab test reports of 10 mills were received from PSQCA. The authority, which has left simply a rubber-stamp organisation was even unable to implement the SRO (1)/2008 which says under the powers conferred by section 14 of PSQCA Act 1996(VI of 1996) the federal government in consultation with the authority is pleased to prohibit, with effect from the January 1, 2009 the manufacture, keeping in stock and the sale of the article specified in column (2) of the schedule below which do not conform to the Pakistan Standard. Under the SRO, almost 20 kitchen items including refined sugar and white sugar were enlisted.
