For first time, sugar exported to Afghanistan via official channels, not smuggling: minister
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Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb addressing a press conference along with Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday. — Radio Pakistan
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Finance Minister Mohammed Aurangzeb on Tuesday, giving law enforcement agencies to ensure regular trade on the border, said that for the first time, Pakistan has exported sugar to Afghanistan through government channels rather than illegal routes.
The Finance Minister said to the Finance Minister, “We need every dollar coming to balance our current account.”
Explaining the implementation and effect of the strict production monitoring system, the country’s top economic manager termed development as positive.
Aurangzeb said, “During this season of diabetes, there will be 5.7 million tonnes of sugar in addition to the stock available in the country from last season.”
He expressed confidence that it would be enough to meet the needs of the country through better management.
The Finance Minister said, “At the top of these technical measures, the FBR (Federal Board of Revenue) personnel have been deployed in sugar mills across the country to ensure accountability and reduce corruption.”
He said that the presence of officers of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), along with other law enforcement agencies, reinforced the implementation of the system.
Aurangzeb said, “The result is that the Chinese are now being sold to real distributors, and the supply chain is being significantly reduced to profit and corruption.”
Meanwhile, in a bid to strengthen and reduce sugar prices, the federal government has decided to import raw sugar (Shakir), according to the news on Tuesday.
According to a government press release, import of raw sugar will reduce sugar prices and increase sugar production in the future, as it can be transformed into sugar better and locally.
This growth has come when sugar prices in the country have increased significantly in recent months, which has reached an average of Rs 1550.43 across the country last month.
Commenting on the ongoing reforms in the sugar industry, he noted that as soon as the counting of the counting of 2024-2025 began, the FBR implemented a new, better productive surveillance system for sugar mills.
“The system includes five surveillance mechanisms, such as track and trace stamps, automatic counters, and video recording to enhance transparency,” he said.
Since the week ended on November 28, 2024, sugar prices have increased by Rs 18.58 per kilogram, which reflects a 14.3 % increase. One year ago, in February 2024, the average price was Rs 1444.47 per kg, which increased by about Rs 6 to Rs 6 per year.
The constant rise in prices is in accordance with the government’s decision to approve the large -scale sugar exports.
Between June and October 2024, authorities allowed export of 750,000 metric tons, including final approval of 500,000 metric tons in October.
The Finance Minister also highlighted the positive impact of these reforms on government taxes, and said that in the first two months of 2025, the sales tax on sugar has increased sharply over the same period of the previous year, which has reached Rs 24 billion in the previous year.
“This 54 % increase is a clear indication of the success of the government’s better monitoring system,” he added.
Thanking Pakistan Daspura for his contribution to the country’s economy, the Minister said that the arrival of remittances on February 2025 has reached an impressive 1 3.1 billion. “We estimate the arrival of high remittances at all times by the end of the financial year, estimates 36 billion,” he said.
The Finance Minister also shared the results of several independent surveys conducted in the last quarter, including Gallup, ICC, overseas Sheepers, IPSOS, Price Water House Copers and recent people from the State Bank of Pakistan, all showed a significant increase in business and consumer confidence.
He noted, “This confidence shows the growing business activities, and promises that these positive trends are seen in different fields.”
Despite the daily fluctuations in the stock market index, Aurangzeb expressed hope for the overall direction of the market.
In particular, he pointed out that in recent months, 52,000 new investors have entered the market, which has indicated the growing interest in Pakistan’s financial sector.
In addition, the Finance Minister highlighted a major milestone in the capital markets, with seven initial public offerings (IPOs) on the stock exchange last year.
The Finance Minister said, “This is the highest number of IPOs in recent years, which has been surpassing four IPOs annually in the past decade.”
“These are very encouraging signs of development in terms of economic recovery and more dynamic, in terms of promoting the environment of the investor -friendly market,” he said.
