TCP has sufficient sugar stock

Thursday, August 20, 2009

KARACHI - Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has a sufficient stock of locally purchased and imported sugar at its godowns and designated sugar mills and further building up stocks through imports on the instructions of federal government. This was stated by the chairman TCP Saeed Ahmed Khan while talking to newsmen at his office here Wednesday. He said that TCP has about 166,000 metric tons of locally procured sugar from mills and 75,000 MT of imported sugar, making a total stock of 241,000 MT. At the same time, we had awarded a contract for the import of 50,000 MT of sugar from international sources, of which about 12,500 MT of sugar is reaching Karachi by August 22, 2009. We have also floated a tender for the import of 75,000 MT of sugar. This will be opened on August 29, 2009. This will also add to the existing stock, he added. Saeed Khan said that TCP has already issued delivery orders for the supply of 50,000 MT of sugar to Utility Stores Corporation (USC) at Rs 37,500 per ton. Now it is upto USC how quickly they lift this sugar from their specified nearest sugar mill and sell to their consumers , he added. He said that the media has incorrectly blamed TCP for the shortage of sugar at USC outlets.

We are not at all responsible for this crisis. USC is facing lifting problems and they are not able to lift sugar in time due to insufficient transportation capacity. This is the reason that the Ministry of Industries and Production has sought the support of National Logistic Cell (NLC) to rapidly transport sugar from mills to USC stock area, he noted.aeed Khan said that TCP had started the process of importing sugar on the instructions of ECC since January this year in a staggered manner. We awarded contract for the import of 25,000 of sugar at $ 451/ton, This was supplied in April, 2009. Similarly, 50,000 was imported at $474 in June 2009, and another 50,000 at $494/ton. The weighted average price of all the imported sugar comes to Rs 55/kg. We are selling this sugar to USC at Rs 38 a kilo. The federal government will bear the difference of procurement and selling prices, he added. To a question about the reason of high international price of sugar, he said that entry of India has boosted sugar prices as it is facing a shortage of about 500,000 tons due to late monsoon. He said that TCP is mandated to work on the instructions of federal government to import or export essential commodities like sugar, wheat, urea, cotton or rice and maintain their buffer stock to meet any crisis in the country. We cannot take any action at our own, he observed. TCP chairman said that ECC has again decided to allow the import of 300,000 MT of raw sugar by mills and 100,000 MT of white sugar by TCP. We are waiting for the orders, he added.

(The Nation)