KARACHI: Focal Person of the Finance Ministry Muzzammil Aslam has claimed that the country would produce surplus sugar this year.
“The crushing of sugarcane begins from October 15 in Sindh but it has not been started so far,” he said blaming the provincial government for the delay in crushing which allegedly created the fresh sugar price hike.
Speaking at the Karachi Press Club on sugar crisis, the focal person of the finance ministry said the sugar mills in Punjab would start crushing sugarcane from November 15.
He said the government had imported about 300,000 tonnes of sugar and more sugar would also reach in a few days.
Since many days the blame game over the ongoing sugar crisis continues. After Prime Minister Imran Khan’s remarks, Sindh had, on Saturday, reciprocated by holding Islamabad responsible for the serious commodity shortage in the country.
“The federal government took no measures from August till now to end the sugar shortage,” Sindh Minister for Information and Labour and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senior leader Saeed Ghani had said while speaking to the media in Karachi.
“PM Imran Khan blamed the PPP-led Sindh government for the sugar crisis, but the people responsible for making flour, sugar, petrol and medicines expensive are with Imran Khan.”
On Friday, PM Imran had said that the closure of three sugar mills in Sindh had contributed to the hike in the price of sugar.
According to Ghani, Punjab produced most of the sugar in the country, so, he said, no other province could be blamed for the sugar shortage.
“Production of sugar in Punjab is 3,546,000 tonnes, while its production in Sindh is 1,550,000 tonnes,” he had explained.