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LAHORE: The Punjab government has reportedly obtained concrete evidence of sugar smuggling from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
The Secretary of Food, Zaman Wattoo is reported to have written a letter to Cane Commissioner Umar Chatta claiming that sugar is being smuggled into Afghanistan. In an effort to combat this, the Secretary of Food has requested sales records from all sugar mills.
As per sources from the Cane Commissioner’s office, the federal government had permitted the export of sugar to Afghanistan. This decision resulted in the export of 4 lakh tons of sugar. Following the export, the price of sugar in the country has increased by Rs 25, providing sugar mills with a profit of more than Rs 115 billion.
This came after reports that the excess stock of cheap sugar in Punjab has depleted, causing the price of sugar per kilogram to increase to Rs. 40 in various cities. A document revealed that the average daily sales of sugar mills in February and March was 17,876 tons. However, on April 3, an incredible sale of 48,257 tons was reported.
During a briefing with the Chief Minister, it was suggested that if smuggling isn’t stopped, Pakistan may have to import $400 million worth of sugar. The Federal Board of Revenue’s track and trace monitoring system in sugar mills has turned out to be incomplete.
In Faisalabad, sugar price increased from Rs130 to Rs135 after an increase of Rs40 per kg.
The price of sugar has increased by Rs20 in Hyderabad whereas it has gone up to Rs120 in the wholesale market and Rs130 per kg in retail in Karachi.
On the other hand, in Peshawar, sugar price has increased by Rs35 to Rs125 per kg in two weeks and the price of molasses has been increased by Rs20 to Rs150 per kg.
In Quetta, one kg sugar is being sold at Rs125 and in the suburbs at Rs130 per kg.
Meanwhile, the Food Department of Punjab conducted operations in Muridke and Sadiqabad, recovering thousands of sacks of sugar. Four warehouses of a flour mill in Muridke were raided, resulting in the recovery of 30,000 sacks of sugar worth Rs. 18 crore. Another operation was carried out in a factory in Sadiqabad, where 6,000 sacks of sugar hidden between sacks of rice were seized. The Secretary of Food claims that this sugar was to be smuggled to Afghanistan, and the value of this sugar is approximately Rs. 4 crore.
