Islamabad, Aug 22: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet met today at the Finance Division under the direction of Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb.The Ministry of Industries & Production’s summary on the export of an additional 0.100 million MT of sugar was accepted by the committee under the following restrictions:
The duration of time permitted for the export of sugar from the date of quota allocation by the relevant Cane Commissioner will be extended from forty-five (45) days to sixty (60) days due to procedural delays experienced during the export of sugar.
In the case of Afghanistan, export funds must be received in advance through banking channels; however, in the case of LC, export revenues for the export of sugar to other countries may be permitted within 60 days after the LC’s inauguration. Since sugar mills do not directly control the retail price, the benchmark for the retail price of sugar may be separated from the authorization to export sugar.
Finally, the requirement that the export quota be revoked in the event that growers fail to pay their debts from sugar export revenues will only apply to the non-compliant mills and not the PMSA as a whole.
In order to address the sector’s issues and ensure sustainable growth, the committee resolved to evaluate the market situation on a monthly basis and revise its decision in light of developing demands. It also directed the Sugar Advisory Board to prepare a comprehensive sugar policy within two months.
Ministers for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, Commerce, Planning, and Privatization; Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal; Minister for Economic Affairs, Ahad Khan Cheema; and Petroleum, Mussadiq Masood Malik; Minister for Power, Sardar Awais Khan Leghari; as well as Federal Secretaries and other senior officials from the relevant ministries, attended the meeting.
