ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has urged the creation of a medium-term framework to deregulate the sugar industry, emphasizing the need for data uniformity, crop zoning, and backward integration across the sector. The call was made during a meeting of the Prime Minister's Committee on Sugar Stocking, Forecasting, and Planning held in Islamabad.

According to Radio Pakistan, the meeting addressed key issues related to sugar stocking, pricing, and strategizing the future development trajectory of the industry. A senior member of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association provided a briefing on the challenges faced by the industry, highlighting concerns particularly related to data collection and compilation.

During his address, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal stressed the importance of robust coordination among government institutions. He suggested that stakeholders collaborate with SUPARCO for satellite-based data gathering to improve the accuracy and reliability of industry data. Iqbal further underscored the urgency of resolving data variance issues by involving experts and researchers to achieve a unified data set across all institutions.

Ahsan Iqbal outlined three critical objectives for the sugar industry: enhancing sugar recovery, producing surplus sugar, and exporting the excess to international markets. The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association representatives praised government initiatives to combat sugar smuggling and implement an effective track and trace system. They also proposed setting a date to review the 12-month performance of sugar mills.

The committee, established in December of the previous year, aims to develop a foolproof monitoring system to report accurate sugar stock positions, facilitating timely export decisions. The meeting was attended by Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanvir Hussain and Minister of State for Finance Ali Parvez Malik.