ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday barred the government from exporting sugar without its recommendations, putting on hold a move by the Sugar Advisory Board to permit the export of 200,000 tonnes of the commodity.

The apex parliamentary committee also stopped the government from importing wheat until it has submitted its recommendations, which are expected to be forwarded to the PM later this month following a detailed briefing from the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

The advisory board, chaired by Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain, cleared the export after reviewing domestic consumption, local requirements and national stocks.

The minister said the decision had been taken only after verifying that the domestic market would face no supply constraints, adding that stocks and prices in major cities would be monitored to shield consumers from price shocks. He also directed mill owners to clear all outstanding dues to sugarcane growers promptly, saying protecting farmers’ interests remained the government’s top priority.

Parliamentary panel also bars wheat import sans its oversight

The PAC directives came as the committee met to examine the impact of the 2024-25 wheat procurement on farmers, amid concerns that the government’s wheat policy had bankrupted growers and created an “artificial shortage”. The government plans to import wheat to cover the shortfall.

The committee gave the food ministry one week to deliver a comprehensive briefing on the wheat crisis.

Presenting a report, the Auditor General of Pakistan told the committee that farmers’ confidence had been shaken after the Punjab government, which had procured around 4 million metric tonnes (MMT) of wheat at the fixed support price in previous years, did not procure any wheat at all, raising concerns over future food security. The report said the move had left farmers financially ruined.

The audit termed the situation questionable and recommended a thorough investigation into the large closing stock of wheat in April 2024 and Punjab’s subsequent decision not to procure.

Members were told that although the federal government had announced a minimum support price of Rs3,900 per 40kg for the food year May 2023 to April 2024, the procurement plan had proved a major failure for farmers.

Bakhtawar Mian also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2026