The Hindu Business Line : Pakistan looks for more sugar from India

Sweet needs
Pakistan wants India to create enabling conditions for exporters to bid for its upcoming sugar tender
Food Ministry asked to issue more export licences.

New Delhi , April 24

Pakistan is seeking one lakh tonnes of sugar from India in a bid to reduce the growing import cost of sugar from other sources, including Dubai.

Talking to Business Line here after attending the first meeting of the SAFTA Ministerial Council held in Dhaka on April 20-22, the Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, said the Commerce Minister of Pakistan, Mr Humayan Akter Khan, asked him to create congenial conditions for enabling Indian sugar exporters to bid for the sugar import tender Islamabad is to open this week for 50,000-one lakh tonnes.

Officials said the Indian Sugar Exim Corporation (ISEC) had exported 50,000 tonnes of sugar during the past four months and it would be persuaded to export one lakh tonnes of sugar to Islamabad. They said export of sugar requires advance licences from the Department of Sugar in the Food and Civil Supplies Ministry since any major chunk of exports should not upset the domestic supply balance.

They said this eventuality would not emanate this year as the current sugar season production is likely to be 191 lakh tonnes, as against earlier estimate of 181.67 lakh tonnes and the actual production of 129.19 lakh tonnes in the 2004-05 sugar season.

ISEC ASKED TO BID

Mr Ramesh said he had already chaired a couple of meetings with his officials to take up the matter with the Department of Sugar in the Food Ministry to waive licensing requirement to enable Pakistan to import one lakh tonnes of sugar and ISEC has been persuaded to bid for the tender when it is opened this week.

He said as Pakistan is finding import of sugar from Dubai and other sources expensive compared to India, the Commerce Minister of Pakistan has urged him to help in this regard.

Lankan pepper, vanaspati

Mr Ramesh said he had made a plea to the Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce, Mr H.R. Mithrapala, to check pepper, vanaspati imports into India as it was impacting local trade.

Trade with Dhaka

He said the Bangladesh Commerce Minister, Mr Altaf Hossain Choudhury, discussed with him the growing trade gap between Dhaka and New Delhi, as India was not importing much from Dhaka. When Mr Choudhury referred to the case of export of jamdani saree from Dhaka being tested in Lucknow instead of at Kolkata for supply to India as a non-tariff barrier, Mr Ramesh assured him that this problem could be resolved. He said when Bangladesh sought duty-free access for its mango pulp, Mr Ramesh sought to ascertain whether Dhaka would be keen on importing mangoes from India duty-free so as to add value and re-export to India and other destinations.

Mr Ramesh said it was not possible for Dhaka to cut its trade deficit by exporting goods to India but it could try attracting investment from India. He said the Maldives Commerce Minister has sought technical assistance for marine products from the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) as the island country plans to beef up its marine product exports to third countries in a big way.

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