Government should encourage the import of raw sugar and ask millers to convert it into white sugar for providing it to people at affordable prices. This was said by Mian Shaukat Masud, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) in a statement.

He said Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has allowed the import of another 100,000 tones of white sugar to overcome its shortage, but due to its very high cost, conversion of imported raw sugar into white sugar could be a far better option to make this commodity available for people at reasonable rates.

He lauded the government for slashing the regulatory duty on import of raw sugar from 25 percent to 5 percent and stressed that this low duty should be maintained till the time the sugar crisis is over so that consumer may not suffer.

He said another benefit of import of raw sugar is that this arrangement will keep the sugar mills in running condition till the start of the crushing season in October this year while keeping them idle will neither serve the public interest nor the business interest of the sugar millers.

Government should also encourage the setting up of more sugar refining mills in the country for converting raw sugar into white sugar, he emphasized.

He said the country consumes 350,000 tons of sugar a month with total requirement of 4.2 million tons for the whole year while the food ministry is anticipating a shortfall of nearly 1.4 million tons with expected sugar production of 2.8 million tons in the next crushing season.

To overcome this shortfall, import of raw sugar could be a more people friendly option instead of importing white sugar from international market, which is far more costly, he added.