The federal government is considering selling 108,000 tonnes of sugar it imported last year at around Rs. 110 per kg, against a reserve price of Rs. 184.
8 per kg it had set for the same stock in September, pointing to an estimated loss of about Rs. 8 billion to the exchequer.
Sources told Pakistan Digital that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) opened bids on November 13 for the export of the stock, held at its Pipri godown in Karachi.
Three bids were received, all from trading firms: Rahul International Trading LLC of the UAE quoted the lowest price at $386 per tonne, followed by General Trading LLC at $395 and Sputnik Global Trading LLC at $400. At the Rs.
280-to-the-dollar rate used in TCP's own tender documents, these offers work out to roughly Rs. 108–112 per kg.
TCP and the Ministry of Commerce have placed the matter before a committee headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, seeking approval to sell at around Rs. 110 per kg.
It is also understood that the bids cover less than half of the available stock, around 50,000 tonnes. The Minister for National Food Security and Research reportedly did not attend this meeting.
How the Stock Piled Up According to the official statement issued after its meeting on August 19, 2026, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet , chaired by the Finance Minister, considered a summary from the Ministry of National Food Security and Research seeking permission to call international tenders for the export of 108,000 tonnes of sugar lying with TCP.
The stock was described as the remainder of 300,000 tonnes imported the previous year on the recommendation of the Steering Committee on Sugar, constituted with Cabinet approval, and the tender process was to strictly follow the PPRA Rules 2004.
TCP imported 300,000 tonnes of white refined sugar between September and November 2025 to ease a domestic shortage. Import bids at the time ranged between roughly $530 and $586 per tonne, C&F Karachi.
Press reports put total spending on the imports at about Rs. 50 billion, or close to Rs. 160–167 per kg. Around 192,000 tonnes were sold in the domestic market, while the remaining 108,000 tonnes have stayed in TCP's warehouse for about a year.
Rs. 75 per Kg Gap Against Reserve Price TCP's first export tender, issued on September 6, 2026, set a reserve price of Rs. 184,800 per tonne , equivalent to $660 at Rs. 280 to the dollar. The same tender provided for a carrying charge of Rs.
2 per kg per month on unpaid and unlifted sugar. The reserve price is consistent with an import cost of about Rs. 160 per kg plus roughly 12 months of carrying costs at Rs. 2 per kg.
Measured against that reserve price, selling the full 108,000 tonnes at Rs. 110 per kg would mean a loss of about Rs. 75 per kg, or roughly Rs. 8. 1 billion. If only 50,000 tonnes are sold, the loss on that quantity would be about Rs. 3.
75 billion. Of the Rs. 75 per kg gap, about Rs. 50 is the shortfall against the original import cost, and the remainder is the carrying cost accumulated over the past year. The roughly 58,000 tonnes left unsold would add about Rs.
116 million a month in carrying costs. TCP invited domestic bids for the stock on November 17 and 25, 2025. Both tenders were rejected because the offers were below the landed cost. It is alleged that bids of around Rs.
140 per kg were received at that stage. When the September 2026 export tender was floated, international white sugar prices were around $505–520 per tonne, or about Rs. 142–146 per kg. The tender, opened on September 30, attracted no bids.
A fresh tender issued on November 10 removed the reserve price altogether rather than setting it at a market-linked level.
According to the tender notice, the stock comprises 96,000 tonnes of fine-grain and 11,086 tonnes of medium-grain sugar, to be lifted within 90 days. Bids Well Below World Prices The bids received are well below international benchmarks.
The December 2026 London No. 5 white sugar contract settled at $527. 60 per tonne on October 29, and the International Sugar Organization's white sugar index moved mostly between $520 and $560 per tonne during October.
This places the TCP bids roughly $120–140 per tonne below the world white sugar price. Part of the difference reflects the ex-works Karachi basis of the tender, which leaves loading and handling to the buyer.
The bidders are trading firms, and the sugar is being sold for export, so any margin between the purchase price and the eventual sale price abroad would go to the buyers.
Unanswered Questions Sources said that serious questions remain over the rationale behind the import and the subsequent handling of the stock.
Why was such a large volume imported, and why was it brought in at a time that left 108,000 tonnes unsold as the domestic crushing season began?
If the purpose of these imports was to stabilize domestic prices, why was the surplus stock not released into the local market to achieve that objective?
Equally concerning is why the offers received in late 2025 and early 2026, which were reportedly higher than the price currently on the table, were not accepted.
Furthermore, what justified cutting the reserve price from $660 per tonne to no reserve price at all, rather than revising it to a level that reflected prevailing international prices?
These unanswered questions raise serious concerns about the timing, decision-making, and transparency of the entire process, and warrant a clear explanation from those responsible.