• Panel told recent price fluctuations yielded Rs300bn profit for mills; chairman says ‘only 42 families’ benefitted
• Officials’ reluctance to share names of mill owners with lawmakers draws rebuke
• Committee told Rs150m spent out of Rs1.95bn allocated for flood awareness campaign, rest of the money diverted

ISLAMABAD: Amid a hike in sugar price, the Public Accounts Committee was informed on Tuesday that the sugar mills have earned Rs300 billion due to recent fluctuations in the rates of the essential commodity.

The Auditor General of Pakistan made these revelations during the meeting of the apex parliamentary panel, which convened the high-stakes session to review the sugar import and export policy, rising prices, and the lack of transparency in the sugar industry.

The PAC met under the chairmanship of Junaid Akbar Khan and it was briefed by Industries and Production Secretary Saif Anjum, who stated that price regulation and relevant laws fell under provincial jurisdictions.

He revealed that from 2013 to 2023, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) permitted sugar exports amounting to 5.09 million metric tonnes, of which 3.927 million tonnes were actually exported. In 2023-24 alone, the country had a surplus of 1.3 million tonnes, and........

© Dawn Business