ISLAMABAD: Experts at a seminar termed political influence, cartelisation, elite culture, outdated farming practices, and the absence of a proper policy framework as the main causes behind the ongoing sugar crisis in the country.

The seminar, titled: “Sugar Crisis in Pakistan: Causes, Consequences and Cure”, was organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) to deliberate upon the structural, economic, and political challenges driving the country’s recurring sugar crisis since long.

SDPI’s Deputy Executive Director Dr Sajid Amin Javed emphasised that sugar sector reform must involve all the stakeholders, including farmers, beverage and sweets manufacturers, industry and consumers. “The current sugar policy protects mill owners. We need to learn from international best practices like India’s controlled deregulation model and the Philippines’ phased deregulation systems that gradually deregulated the industry’s subsidies and passed on the effects to the last partners of the nexus mainly farmers and consumers,” he said.

Sugar sector possesses a political shield, as most of the sugar mills’ owners are politicians, who influence the policy and practice at government level, he said, adding that “Deregulation should begin at the industry level, gradually dismantling cartelization while ensuring protection for vulnerable groups, especially the farmers and consumers.”

SDPI research fellow Dr Kashif Salik stressed the need to demystify sugar crisis, framing it not as a seasonal shortage but a recurring systemic failure of the successive governments. He said cartelisation remains a major issue that’s why the government is contemplating to deregulate the sector under strict IMF conditions that prohibit subsidies.

Cane Expert from Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam Prof Dr Mohammad Ismail Kumbhar,painted a bleak picture of sugarcane production, particularly in Sindh.

“Outdated cultivation techniques, declining cane recovery rates due to climate change, and the monopolistic role of politically backed sugar mills’ owners have led to delayed payments and exploitation of small farmers and cane growers,” he said. With only 25-30 of Sindh’s 40+ mills operational and water scarcity worsening, the farmers have to face both financial and environmental pressures, he maintained.

Dr Kumbhar called for urgent policy reforms, including a revision of the national sugar policy, payments to farmers within 15 days, and a halt to sugar exports until domestic demand is met. He emphasized that sugarcane is a “delta crop”, which consumes disproportionate water and a threat to sustainability of agroecological zones already under biggest stress. “Sugar is not just an economic issue,” he said, adding that “it’s a structural failure marked by elite capture, with political families owning the majority of sugar mills.”

To a question, Dr Kumbhar highlighted political ownership of sugar mills as a long-standing issue. “An amount of Rs36 billion in cane payments has been overdue in Sindh since 2014-15, he said.

Director Agriculture Policy, University of Faisalabad Prof Mohammad Asif Kamran criticised the poor data management system and the lack of digital transparency in sugar stock and production. “We need a centralised digital dashboard to track sugar stocks and guide export-import decisions,” he argued. He also proposed a shift towards sugar beet, a less water-intensive crop, and presented global examples of shifting consumer preferences towards alternatives like jaggery. He also proposed deploying blockchain technology to ensure digital payments and traceable production and distribution, aiming to curtail manipulation and inefficiencies.

Dr Kamran further noted that per capita sugar consumption in Pakistan remains alarmingly high even with prices recently crossing Rs 200 per kg.

Sibte Hassan Sherazi, Additional Cane Commissioner of Punjab said, “Our labs are checking discrepancies between reported and actual sugar production. There’s often a 1.5 percent mismatch,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2025