Millers refuse to supply sugar at Rs70 per kg

Ask govt to allow export of 1.5m tonnes surplus sugar

The sugar millers on Sunday rejected the proposal of Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz to supply sugar at Rs70 per kilogram.

According to reports, Sugar Mills Association and the Punjab government failed to reach an agreement over the commodity’s pricing, and the association presented a counter-proposal to the authorities.

The millers have said that the country has two million tons of sugar in surplus and asked the government to allow them to export 1.5 million tons of the commodity, which can earn the country about one billion rupees in foreign exchange.

Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz on Saturday directed all sugar mills to sell sugar at Rs70 per kg. He met a delegation of the Sugar Mills Association on Saturday and urged them to sell sugar at Rs70 per kg. During the meeting, millers were given 24 hours to make the final decision. Meanwhile, all the sugar mills owned by the Sharif family were directed to provide sugar at Rs70 per kg in the market.

The supply of cheap sugar to the people should be ensured, Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz said and warned that no negligence will be tolerated on the part of the administration in implementing the official price of essential commodities. The Punjab chief minister’s team held talks with the Sugar Mills Association in which reduction of prices was discussed to provide relief to the people but millers refused to accept the government’s suggestion.