PAC halts sugar export despite green light from advisory board

Dawn reported that the Public Accounts Committee has put a hold on a Sugar Advisory Board decision to allow exports of 200,000 tonnes of sugar. The parliamentary body ordered that no sugar leave the country until the government submits its recommendations to the committee. The advisory board, led by Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain, had cleared the shipments after reviewing domestic consumption, local needs and national stocks.

The minister said the export approval followed a check confirming that domestic supplies would not face constraints. Stock levels and prices in major cities will be tracked to protect consumers from sudden price jumps, and mill owners were instructed to settle sugarcane growers' outstanding dues without delay. Separately, the committee blocked wheat imports until recommendations are submitted, with those expected to reach the prime minister later this month.

Members also reviewed the impact of 2024-25 wheat procurement on growers, voicing concern that the government's wheat policy had left farmers financially ruined. An Auditor General of Pakistan report said Punjab bought no wheat after buying about 4 million metric tonnes in earlier years at the fixed support price. The audit called the situation questionable and urged a detailed probe of the sizeable stockpile held in April 2024. Within one week, the food ministry is required to brief the panel fully on the wheat situation.