Pak rejects all bids for 50,000 tn sugar import

Bids for the June 3 tender rejected due to high prices.

The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has rejected all the tenders for the import of 50,000 tonne sugar, said S L Jain, member-secretary, Indian Sugar Exim Corporation (ISEC).

The tender was issued on June 3. ISEC, along with eight more companies, had submitted their bids for the tender.

The reason given by TCP for rejection of bids is the high prices offered. Pakistan is facing an acute shortage of sugar this year. Total sugar production in the country is estimated at about 25 lakh tonne against an expected consumption requirement of about 39 lakh tonne.

Domestic sugar prices are hovering in a range of about Rs 40 a kg. TCP has already contracted 4 lakh tonne of sugar from various sources like the Dubai-based Al Khaleej and India's ISEC.

The last sugar tender issued by TCP was awarded to Al-Khaleej sugar company of Dubai at a price of about $ 489 a tonne .

At present, ISEC holds orders of over 2 lakh tonne, from TCP, of which 95,000 tonne has been shipped from Mumbai and Chennai ports. It has also won a recent tender of TCP amounting to 40,000 tonne at the bid price of $506 a tonne.