Pakistan awards 25000t sugar contract to Al-Khaleej

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has bought 25,000 tonnes of white sugar at $676 per tonne cost and freight and free out (CFFO), in a tender that closed on Sept. 30, a government official and a trader said on Friday.

The government has approved the import of 100,000 tonnes of sugar to meet possible shortages. It is not known when the remaining 75,000 tonnes will be imported, but expectations of more purchases from Pakistan have helped underpin sentiment in futures markets bolstered by demand from neighbour India.

"The contract for 25,000 tonnes of sugar has been awarded to Al-Khaleej, which quoted the lowest price," said an official of the state-owned Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), which issued the tender.

A total of five companies took part in the bidding but only four bids were found valid, the TCP official said earlier.

The other offers for a lot of 25,000 tonnes came from Cargill ($689.00/tonne), LDC ($690.12/tonne) and Bunge ($699.69/tonne), a trader, who declined to be identified, said on Wednesday.

Pakistan bought 75,000 tonnes of white sugar in a tender that closed on Aug. 29, before the approval of another 100,000 tonnes of imports to meet possible shortages.

The government has also decided to import 300,000 tonnes of raw sugar as officials expect the 2009/10 crop to come in at about 3 million tonnes, significantly less than demand.

The raw sugar is not expected to be imported before December, a Food Ministry official said recently.

The decision to import refined sugar came after domestic prices surged ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ended in the third week of September.

The rising price of sugar and other staples, plus power shortages, have led to anger with the government and intervention by the judiciary.

The Supreme Court, hearing a case on sugar prices, ordered the government on Friday to implement an earlier court decision to ensure a retail price of 40 rupees/kg (48 U.S. cents) compared with the then market price of 46 rupees/kg.

The government had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the earlier court ruling. Government officials had said they could not persuade sugar millers to sell for less than 46 rupees/kg as it would hurt their interests.

The Supreme Court also appointed a one-man commission, headed by the chairman of the Competition Commission of Pakistan, to determine sugar prices taking into account the cost of production and other expenses.

The next hearing has been set for Oct. 16.