Indian sugar currently cheapest in the world, while cotton imports will bridge raw material shortfall, says Pak minister
AMN / ISLAMABAD
In a bid to improve trade ties with India Pakistan on Wednesday said that it will import cotton and sugar imports from India.
Newly-appointed Finance Minister Hammad Azhar announced Pakistan Economic Coordination Committee’s (ECC) decision to import 0.5 million tonnes of white sugar and cotton from India.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is also Minister-in-Charge of Commerce and Textile, had approved the proposals that were put before the EEC.
Paksitan Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Wednesday allowed the private sector to import 0.5 million tonnes of white sugar from India, Finance Minister Hammad Azhar said.
The finance minister added that the country will also import cotton from India starting from end-June this year.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Azhar said that the ECC also decided to reduce the prices of petrol and diesel citing lower rates in the international market. The price of petrol was reduced by Rs1 per litre while the price of diesel was reduced by Rs3 per litre, he shared.
“We have allowed the import of sugar but in the rest of the world too, sugar prices are high because of which imports are not possible. But in our neighbouring country — India — the prices of sugar are much less as compared to Pakistan so we have decided to reopen sugar trade with India for up to 0.5 million tonnes for the private sector.”
He said the government estimated a difference of 15-20 per cent in sugar prices in India as compared to Pakistan.
Talking about the reason for allowing the import of cotton from India, Azhar said that there was a high demand for it because Pakistan’s textile exports had increased but last year’s cotton crop was not good.
“The difference [in prices] affects the SMEs (small and medium enterprises. Big industry can buy it from Egypt or other countries.”