Islamabad – The government has withdrawn the tender for importing 300,000 tons of sugar after the IMF refused to allow a tax exemption on imported sugar.
According to Geo News, the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has canceled the previous tender and instead issued a revised tender for importing 50,000 metric tons of sugar.
For this revised tender, international suppliers have been invited to submit bids by July 22.
The government had earlier made a final decision to import 500,000 tons of sugar, for which all import duties had been waived, and TCP had issued a tender on July 11 for 300,000 tons.
However, the IMF raised serious concerns over granting tax exemptions on sugar imports.
Ex-Mill Sugar Price Set Higher Despite Import Approval
Meanwhile, despite the approval to import sugar, the ex-mill price of sugar has been set higher than before.
Sources revealed that compared to the previously set price during sugar export approval, the ex-mill price has increased by Rs 25 per kg, and compared to the government-announced price in March, the price has risen by Rs 6 per kg.
According to cabinet documents, in June 2024, the federal government set the ex-mill price at Rs 140 per kg, and in March 2025, it was raised to Rs 159 per kg. Later, the government agreed with sugar mills on a price of Rs 165 per kg.
The Ministry of National Food Security announced the new ex-mill price just yesterday.
It is worth mentioning that the government had initiated the approval process for sugar exports in June 2024, allowing a total of 750,000 tons of sugar to be exported from June to October 2024.