SINGAPORE, Jan 31: Pakistan has sealed a deal to sell white sugar to Sri Lanka. The country, which has been importing sugar in recent years, has struck its first export sale in five years and could ship as much as 300,000 tonnes in the next nine months.

The deal to sell 1,000 tonnes of white sugar to Sri Lanka was sealed at $335 a tonne, free on board, for February shipment in containers, Najib Balagamwalla, chief executive of top commodity trader Seatrade Group, told Reuters. Producers are increasingly looking abroad after the government raised import duties and removed an export tax, signalling it believed domestic supplies were comfortable.

“We have just closed the deal. We are aiming to sell another 20,000 tonnes to Southeast Asia and Middle East destinations. Negotiations are at an advanced stage,” Balagamwalla said.

“If London prices rise a little more, we should be able to do a couple of bulk deals,” he added.

“We can export up to 300,000 tonnes with having any problems about supplies in the domestic market,” Balagamwalla said. “The domestic situation looks pretty comfortable now.” In November, Islamabad raised the duty on sugar imports to 25 per cent from 15 per cent, sending out a signal that supplies had reached comfortable levels.

Pakistan also removed a 15 per cent duty on sugar exports in the same month, the first signs about its intentions to sell in overseas markets. But no deal had materialised until now as Pakistani sugar prices were not competitive.