Islamabad: The scandal of the sugar crisis broke out in the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament. The Auditor General has revealed that the country’s powerful sugar mill owners earned an extraordinary profit of more than Rs 300 billion during this crisis.
During the meeting, Chairman of the Committee Junaid Akbar said that this profit went into the pockets of only 42 influential families, who already dominate the economy. The members of the committee criticized the government severely and questioned why the price continued to increase despite the availability of sufficient sugar.
Committee member Riaz Fatiana said that the nation was cheated of Rs 287 billion, while Khawaja Shiraz slammed state institutions for exploiting farmers. Moin Aamir Pirzada raised questions about the increase in the ex-mill price of sugar on a monthly basis.
Aamir Dogar alleged that the largest number of sugar mills are owned by former President Asif Ali Zardari, then Jahangir Tareen and the Sharif family. Afnanullah and Shazia Marri countered by saying that evidence should be presented, not allegations.
The Secretary of Industries and Production explained that 7.66 million metric tons of sugar were produced last year, of which 1.3 million tons were surplus; however, 7.9 million tons were allowed to be exported, earning $400 million in foreign exchange.
Currently, the ex-mill price of sugar is Rs 173 per kg, which raises many questions as to who benefited and who increased the price?
