KARACHI, April 26: Pakistan’s refined sugar output rose to record high of 3.58 million tons during the current production year of 2002-03 (November-April), industry officials said on Saturday.

“The production up to April 15 was at 3.58 million tons against the highest ever output of 3.55 million tons recorded in 1997-98,” Zaka Ashraf, a sugar producer, told Reuters from Lahore.

He said total production during the current sugarcane crushing season would be around 3.60-3.65 million tons as a few mills were still in production in central Punjab.

Pakistan, which has an annual sugar demand of around 3.324 million tons, produced around 3.25 million tons of sugar during the 2001-02 crushing season, up from 2.7 million — 2.8 million tons the year before.

Pakistan grew 53 million tons of sugarcane against a target of 46.5 million tons last season.

Industry officials said the country would have a total stock of 4.23 million tons, including the carryover stocks of 637,000 tons from the previous year’s production.

“After catering local needs up to the start of the next crushing season (November 2003), a net surplus of 938,000 tons of sugar will be available in the market,” said another sugar producer in Karachi.—Reuters