logo
Sugar imports, exports: ‘Govt's handling inflicts billions of rupees in losses'

Sugar imports, exports: ‘Govt's handling inflicts billions of rupees in losses'

KARACHI: Syed Aman Shah, Provincial Convener Balochistan of the Awam Pakistan Party, has said that the government's manipulative handling of sugar imports and exports has inflicted billions of rupees in losses on the national exchequer and crushed the public under unbearable costs.
Syed Aman Shah said that when the government allowed sugar exports in October last year, it had decided that if the retail price of sugar exceeded Rs.145.15 per kg, exports would be halted immediately.
However, from December 2024 to February 2025, sugar continued to be exported while prices kept rising, yet exports were not stopped. Now, by allowing the import of 500,000 metric tons of sugar, the federal government has once again given the sugar mafia a license to fill their coffers and push the public deeper into misery.
He accused that the sugar was first hoarded artificially to raise prices and then sold it at exorbitant rates, making billions. The constant rise in sugar prices has now become a grave crisis. The real cause of this price surge is government incompetence, flawed policies, and its alliance with the sugar hoarders.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Pakistan explores avenues of furthering ties with World Economic Forum
Pakistan explores avenues of furthering ties with World Economic Forum

Business Recorder

time5 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Pakistan explores avenues of furthering ties with World Economic Forum

ISLAMABAD: The committee for Pakistan's engagement with the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Tuesday explored avenues for cooperation with the forum in priority areas including investment and economic growth, digitalisation and emerging technologies. Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb chaired the committee meeting which outlined the objectives of the meeting and the committee constituted by the prime minister last week, for shaping a coherent national strategy for enhancing Pakistan's engagement with WEF to secure opportunities for investment, innovation, and inclusive economic growth. The participants shared ideas and discussed strategies to strengthen Pakistan's leadership role at the WEF, with a special focus on creating direct engagement channels that yield tangible benefits for the people of Pakistan—particularly women, youth, and the business community. The deliberations emphasised compiling a comprehensive list of all ongoing WEF initiatives in Pakistan, assessing their progress, and identifying execution gaps. PM Shehbaz reaffirms Pakistan's strong partnership with World Economic Forum The committee also explored avenues for cooperation with WEF in priority areas such as investment and economic growth, digitalisation and emerging technologies including AI, skills development and productive employment, and climate change. A key focus remained on ensuring Pakistan's greater participation in the 'future of jobs' discourse and promoting increased female labour force participation. Additionally, the committee discussed measures to improve Pakistan's standing in the Global Gender Gap Index. The chair thanked the participants for their valued inputs and hoped the committee's deliberations would help adopt a structured, coordinated approach to Pakistan's future engagement with the WEF, reinforcing the government's commitment to positioning the country as an active, forward-looking partner in shaping the global economic agenda. The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecom Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Federal Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Malik (virtually), SAPM for Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani and senior officials from the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), Board of Investment (BOI), National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), and Musharraf Zaidi, chief coordinator to the prime minister. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Pakistan govt alarmed by over Rs6trn losses in state-owned enterprises
Pakistan govt alarmed by over Rs6trn losses in state-owned enterprises

Business Recorder

time5 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Pakistan govt alarmed by over Rs6trn losses in state-owned enterprises

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has termed as alarming the government figures suggesting that State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) have incurred losses of nearly six trillion rupees, saying, eight SOEs would be privatised this year. 'This is alarming indeed,' he said, speaking on a calling attention notice in Senate on Tuesday regarding the 'alarming figures revealed in Biannual Performance Report issued by the Finance Division that state-owned enterprises have incurred losses of Rs 5.89 trillion during first half of financial year 2024-2025.' Samina Mumtaz Zehri from Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) was the original mover of the calling attention notice, but was absent from the House when the calling attention notice was taken up on the maiden day of the Senate's 353rd session. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Parliamentary Leader in Senate Sherry Rehman then took up the issue regarding the reported losses incurred by the SOEs. 24 SOEs to be privatised in 3 phases: minister Last year, the revenue was recorded at Rs 12 trillion. 'But 50 percent has been lost as result of losses incurred by the SOEs,' Aurangzeb said. 'This flow is very high—the government is taking different steps to reduce expenditure—like we introduced pension reforms—to cut down on the expenses,' the minister said. He said 24 SOEs have been finalised for privatisation. 'They were referred to the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation, and then finally referred to the Privatisation Commission. Eight SOEs would be privatised this year—the rest would be privatised thereafter,' he said. The Sindh government, Aurangzeb said, is following 'very good' formula of public-private partnership. The chairpersons of the board of directors of the SOEs are being appointed from private sector to involve private sector to improve the affairs at the SOEs, said the minister. 'Three DISCOs (distribution companies) have been put to the process of privatisation—it's yielding good results,' he said. The finance minister said that the cabinet committees on SOEs and rightsizing, under his leadership, are working on the privatisation in 43 ministries and 400 government departments. Aurangzeb said he regularly appears before the finance committees of the Senate and the National Assembly for 'accountability.' Earlier, the Senate unanimously passed the Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment) Bill, 2025. The bill gives retrospective effect to cover the period from financial year 2020-2021 and onwards to exempt products imported for foreign grant in-aid projects from payment of anti-dumping duty through Anti-Dumping Duties (Amendment), Act 2022. Meanwhile, the opposition senators strongly protested against the convictions of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers by anti-terrorism courts (ATCs), and walked out of the House. Presently, the Senate is without an opposition leader following the conviction of Shibli Faraz by an ATC in the context of 9 May riots, and his subsequent disqualification from the Senate by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The Senate was adjourned till Friday. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Stocks stay strong
Stocks stay strong

Business Recorder

time7 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Stocks stay strong

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) navigated a turbulent session on Tuesday, closing at a record high despite heavy profit-taking by investors keen to lock in recent gains. The benchmark KSE-100 Index ended just 75.48 points, or 0.05 percent up at 147,005.32 points, as compared to the previous session closing of 146,929.98 points. The index touched an intraday peak of 147,977 points and a low of 146,895 points before ending at record close. BRIndex100 closed at 15,035.17, down 37.65 points or 0.25 percent, with a total volume of 543.26 million shares. BRIndex30 fell 103.75 points, or 0.24 percent, to 42,521.63 points, with 259.14 million shares traded. According to Topline Securities, gains in BAFL, HBL, and SYS added a combined 295 points to the benchmark, partly offsetting losses from FFC, MARI, OGDC, PSO, and BAHL, which together eroded 527 points — underscoring sectoral divergence and investor caution. Market breadth remained negative, with 208 scrips advancing against 242 decliners and 32 remain unchanged in the ready market. Turnover in the ready market rose to 691.65 million shares from 611.20 million in the previous session, while traded value inched up to Rs 44.58 billion from Rs 44.00 billion of yesterday. Yousuf Weaving led the volumes with 46.27 million shares, closing at Rs 6.09. Kohinoor Spinning followed with 39.94 million shares at Rs 6.47, while Invest Bank finished the day at Rs 9.68 on 34.39 million shares. Among the top gainers, PIA Holding Company surged Rs 156.85 to Rs 29,000, and Khyber Textile Mills gained Rs 69.71 to Rs 1,477. On the flip side, Nestle Pakistan fell Rs 88.57 to Rs 8,762.79, while Unilever Pakistan Foods dropped Rs 79.40 to Rs 32,020.61. Sectoral performance was mixed — strength in banking supported the index, while oil, gas, and fertilizer stocks weighed on sentiment. The Oil and Gas sector remained under pressure amid selling in OGDC, PSO, and PPL futures. Market capitalization edged down to Rs 17.524 trillion from Rs 17.529 trillion a day earlier, reflecting the limited net effect of the day's choppy trade. The BR Automobile Assembler Index closed at 23,639.61 points, up 154.78 points or 0.66 percent, with a turnover of 3.12 million shares. The BR Cement Index rose 124.58 points, or 1.1 percent, to 11,483.55 points, on 41.59 million shares. The BR Commercial Banks Index gained 269.64 points, or 0.62 percent, to close at 43,604.32 points, with 92.97 million shares traded. The BR Power Generation and Distribution Index slipped 96.50 points, or 0.42 percent, to 22,765.22 points, on 35.82 million shares. The BR Oil and Gas Index dropped 206.53 points, or 1.54 percent, to 13,197.93, with 56.19 million shares changing hands. The BR Technology & Communication Index added 32.17 points, or 0.98 percent, to 3,329.63, on 42.18 million shares. Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corporation said the market's strength was underpinned by a robust earnings outlook and rupee stability, while speculation over Pakistan–US trade and investment deals, government moves to secure additional export tariff incentives, and rising business confidence acted as catalysts for the record close. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store