LAHORE: The Punjab cane commissioner has allocated sugar export quotas as per cane crushed by each mill in the province.

Cane Commissioner Abdul Rauf, in an order issued on Monday, said that as per cane crushing data for 2023-24 obtained from Punjab zone of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association it was observed that sucrose content or sugar recovery in mills located in certain areas of the province was higher than other areas.

Therefore, distribution of export quota on the basis of sugar produced tantamount to ‘double whammy’, for those whose sucrose content was lower, he said, adding that it was deemed judicious and equitable to allocate quota on the basis of sugarcane crushed by each mill.

The Economic Coordination Committee of the Federal Cabinet had allowed export of 150,000 tonnes of sugar on June 13. Of this, 64 per cent quota or 96,000 tonnes was given to the mills located in Punjab, 30pc for Sindh and 6pc for those in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2024