Today News From Pakistan

LAHORE: The sugar crisis resurfaced in Punjab on Friday after two weeks of relative calm, with the provincial government seizing stocks of all mills under its jurisdiction and millers daring it to sell sugar on its own.

Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, who presided over a meeting late Thursday night with mill owners, confirmed to Dawn that the provincial government had taken over stocks and had no option but to sell sugar itself at the price fixed by the Lahore High Court, and retained by the Supreme Court, ‘if the millers do not cooperate.’

Sugar millers said the Punjab government should have sought their cooperation before seizing the stocks. ‘Once the stocks have been taken over, the government has lost moral ground,’ a miller argued.

‘Under the 1958 Food Act, under which the Punjab government has taken over the stocks, millers are not entitled to fix the sugar price or its sale. The government is charged with both the duties under the act. Since the government has taken over the stocks and legally these now belong to it, how could they (millers) be asked to sell them,’ he wondered.

The government should sell the stocks at the rate fixed by the court instead of passing the buck to the millers. ‘The millers are now out of the game,’ he insisted.

Rana Sanaullah said ‘millers must cooperate with the government and sell sugar at the price fixed by the court.’ The millers were given a fair chance to present their point of view in the court, and even go for a review petition, he added.

The minister said that millers should meet their promise they had made in the court that they would cooperate with the provincial government. He said the government had taken over 525,000 tons of sugar and would sell it at Rs40 per kg in the market.

The mills will be paid at the price of Rs36 per kg.

Explaining reasons for taking over the stocks on Thursday night whereas the court decision came on Friday morning, Mr Sanaullah said the provincial government had reports that millers were selling over 12,000 tons of sugar daily against the total requirement of 6,000 tons. The action was taken to stop hoarding.

‘The Punjab government held exhaustive discussions with the millers about price and cost of sugar, but they stuck to their point of view,’ the minister said.

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