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Pak industry campaigns against Indian sugar

M. R. Subramani

CHENNAI, Jan. 23

EMBITTERED over rising sugar imports from India, the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has launched a vigorous campaign against it on health grounds.

The campaign comes on the heels of the Pakistan Government rejecting PSMA's demand to raise customs duty on sugar or ban its import from India.

``All laboratory reports about Indian sugar have revealed that it contains a high percentage of sulphur, which is highly injurious to human health,'' the Punjab PSMA Chairman, Mr Zaka Ashraf, has alleged in interviews to the Pakistan media. ``This fact w as been passed on to the (Pakistan) Commerce Minister, Mr Razzak Dawood, when he met us. Despite expressing grave concern over the substandard Indian sugar, the Minister has failed to stop its import,'' Mr Ashraf charged. The PSMA official has attributed ``poor distillation facilities'' in India for the substandard quality. Despite Pakistan's refusal to raise customs duty or ban Indian imports, Mr Ashraf is confident of some measures to check shipments from across the border.

``Mills have been promised that the duty will be imposed in a week's time,'' he said.

According to him, at least 1.5 lakh tonnes had been imported from India and another 1.5 lakh tonnes is in the pipeline.

But what worries Pakistan sugar mills is that Indian sugar has begun reaching by the sea route as well. ``A ship with 1,25,000 tonnes of Indian sugar has just reached Karachi,'' Mr Ashraf said.

Stating that the Pakistan Government had shown willingness to help the mills, he questioned import of Indian white sugar in addition to raw sugar imports.

``The Government had assured to meet the 5 lakh tonnes projected deficit through raw sugar imports,'' he said. Traders in the country expect to export at least 6 lakh tonnes to Pakistan. While most of the 1.5 lakh tonnes had been sent in small quantities by train, large shipments were expected to be sent by sea as well.

India is in a position to import in view of huge stocks of about 90 lakh tonnes following a record 182-lakh tonne production during the 1999-2000 season (October-September). During the current season, the production is expected to be around the same leve l.

The campaign against Indian sugar is seen as a retaliation against the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) spearheading a drive against imports of sugar, particularly from Pakistan, during 1997-99. During those two years, Indian imported at least 18 la kh tonnes from Pakistan. Following ISMA's vigorous campaign, the Government raised the customs duty on sugar in phases from zero to 60 per cent last year.

In fact, the Congress Party had made sugar imports from Pakistan as one of its main campaign issues against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) during the 1999 elections to the Lok Sabha.