Ministry Takes U-Turn on Sugar Data Authentication

The Ministry of National Food Security & Research has canceled the process of independently verifying and authenticating the stocks of sugar lying in the sugar mills across the country, official sources have informed ProPakistani. The Sugar Advisory Board (SAB), working under the Ministry of National Food Security & Research, has the mandate inter-alia to monitor the production of sugar and sugar stocks in the country. The SAB advises the government on key decisions relating to the sector, including the export and import of sugar in the country. Recently, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) claimed that the country has surplus sugar stocks of more than one million metric tons (MT). The government decided to verify and authenticate the claim of PSMA. In this regard, the Ministry of National Food Security (SAB) intended to hire the services of a reputable audit firm to verify and authenticate the surplus stocks of sugar mills across Pakistan. The ministry had initiated the process of procuring the services of an audit firm for stock verification. The firm was required to complete the entire exercise of stock verification within a period of two weeks, starting from the letter of award. However, now the Ministry has canceled the process.