Latest news with #TradingCorporationofPakistan
Arab News
5 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan tenders to buy 100,000 metric tons of sugar, traders say
HAMBURG: Pakistan's state agency the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has issued an international tender to purchase 100,000 metric tons of white refined sugar, European traders said on Friday. The deadline for submission of price offers is July 31. Pakistan's government had on July 8 approved plans to import 500,000 tons of sugar to help to maintain price stability. Market analysts said that retail sugar prices in the country have risen sharply since January. Pakistan reportedly received no offers in a previous tender to buy 50,000 tons of sugar on July 22, with traders saying the requirement to load shipments between August 1-15 was too short notice for realistic offers. The new tender seeks shipment of breakbulk supplies between August 21 and September 5 for 50,000 tons or between September 1-15 for 50,000 tons. For 50,000 tons of sugar in ocean shipping containers, shipment can also be made between August 21 and September 10. Shipments should be organized to achieve arrival of all the sugar in Pakistan by September 30 with containerised shipments able to arrive up to five days later. The sugar can be sourced from optional origins but excluding India and Israel.
Business Recorder
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Pakistan believed to have received no offers in 50,000 T sugar tender, traders say
HAMBURG: No trading companies werebelieved to have submitted price offers in the international tender to buy 50,000 metric tons of sugar from Pakistan which closed on Tuesday, European traders said in initial assessments. Traders said the shipment and arrival periods were regarded as having too short notice for realistic offers. The tender from the state trading agency Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) sought loading from August 1-15. Pakistan cuts volume sought in sugar tender to 50,000 tons The entire volume purchased was sought for arrival in Pakistan by August 30. Pakistan's government had on July 8 approved plans to import 500,000 tons of sugar to help maintain price stability. Market analysts said that retail sugar prices in the country have risen sharply since January.
Business Recorder
21-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Grave policy gaps in sugar sector
EDITORIAL: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan's (TCP) July 15 directive to slash its sugar import tender from 300,000 to just 50,000 metric tonnes is the latest twist in a saga that has completely exposed the confusion, lack of foresight and planning, and utter incompetence that has defined the government's handling of sugar export and import decisions in recent months. More tellingly, it reveals a policy regime designed to reward rent-seeking behaviour rather than protecting the public interest and market stability. As previously detailed in this space, the government, acting under the considerable, and dare one say, pernicious influence of powerful sugar barons, many of whom hold prominent positions within the political mileu, approved the export of roughly 765,000 metric tonnes of sugar during the last fiscal year. The decision was ostensibly based on assurances that only surplus stocks would be exported, ensuring that domestic prices would remain stable. However, what ensued was a shortage of sugar domestically and a sharp price surge, solely benefitting trade. To rein in soaring domestic prices, the government recently decided to allow the tax-concessions on import of sugar. The timing of the import decision, however, highlights a serious lack of planning and coordination among key stakeholders. By the time imported sugar enters the Pakistani market, the local crushing season will be in full swing, risking disruption to the domestic crop's market. Even more critically, importing such large quantities raises questions regarding the pressures that will be brought to bear on our precarious foreign exchange reserves. And given the tax waivers on these imports – wherein the FBR has exempted these from customs duty and reduced the sales tax rate from 18 percent to 0.25 percent – not only is this going to seriously burden the national exchequer, the country will also risk violating the $7 billion IMF programme that mandates it to not grant preferential tax treatments or engage in commodity purchases. While the IMF has made no official comment, there are reports of it privately taking strong exception to the government's haphazard moves that deviate from agreed reforms. It is this pressure, ostensibly, that compelled the TCP to considerably scale back its sugar import tender. The exorbitant prices Pakistani consumers have been forced to pay for sugar reveal not only the folly of the ill-conceived decision to export the commodity in the first place, it also points to deeper, systemic issues related to rampant price manipulation, hoarding, the entrenched political clout of sugar barons, their cartel-like behaviour and the collapse of regulatory oversight. Over the last seven months, there has been a consistent rise in prices of the commodity from Rs140 per kg to around Rs210 per kg even as its international price at current exchange rate levels hovers around the Rs104 per kg mark. Now, despite the government reaching an agreement with mill owners that fixed the wholesale price at Rs165 per kg, media reports indicate that many wholesale outlets have openly defied the agreement, demanding prices far beyond the official rate. As a result, consumers continue to face inflated retail prices that bear little relation to the official ex-factory cost. This encapsulates all that is wrong with the regime governing the trade of agricultural commodities: toothless oversight mechanisms, unchecked power and impunity of entrenched agro-industrial lobbies, and the complete marginalisation of the public interest. It must be noted that sugar is not a staple crop nor does it have substantive strategic value. Given this, it is unacceptable that successive governments have essentially subsidised its growth at the cost of more vital commodities. The government must put an end to the mollycoddling of the sugar sector and enforce discipline and transparency in its regulation. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
15-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Pakistan cuts volume sought in sugar tender to 50,000 tons
HAMBURG: Pakistan's state agency the Trading Corporation of Pakistan has reduced the volume of white refined sugar sought in an international purchase tender to 50,000 metric tons, European traders said on Tuesday. The tender had originally sought 300,000 to 500,000 metric tons. The deadline for submission of price offers has also been changed to July 22 from July 18 previously. TCP invites bids for import of 0.3m tons of sugar Shipment is now sought in two 25,000-ton consignments loading from August 1-15. The entire volume purchased must arrive in Pakistan by August 30. Pakistan's government had on July 8 approved plans to import 500,000 tons of sugar to help maintain price stability. Market analysts said that retail sugar prices in the country have risen sharply since January.
Business Recorder
14-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Govt fixes ex-mill price of sugar at Rs165/kg
The Ministry of National Food Security & Research announced on Monday the ex-mill price of sugar had been fixed at Rs165 per kilogramme (Kg) after successful negotiations between the government and the sugar industry. The government directed all provincial governments to ensure that sugar was sold in line with the new rate. 'All provincial governments should ensure the availability of cheap sugar to the public,' the ministry said. The development comes days after Pakistan's state agency, the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), issued an international tender to purchase and import 300,000 to 500,000 metric tons of white refined sugar. The deadline for submission of price offers is July 18. On July 8, Pakistan's government had approved plans to import 500,000 tons of sugar to help maintain price stability. Market analysts said that retail sugar prices in the country have risen sharply since January. The sugar is sought from worldwide origins, packed in bags with a minimum offer of 25,000 tons permitted. The TCP reserves the right to purchase more or less than the tender volumes, traders said. Shipment is sought in a series of consignments loading in August.
