The federal government has decided to retract its decision to import 6,00,000 tons of sugar, claiming it will be more expensive than the domestically produced sugar. According to Ministry of Trade sources, the government has decided to not import sugar from other countries and fulfil requirements from locally produced sugar. The decision has been made to lessen the trade deficit of the country. Trade ministry sources said that imported sugar would cost around Rs110 per kg while locally produced sugar costs Rs90 per kg. The country has surplus reserves of sugar, the sources say. There are sufficient reserves of sugar, oil and flour in the country, the trade ministry said. The import bill for food items has gone up to Rs29 billion.

Credit:
Independent News Pakistan-INP