Islamabad, July 18, 2025 – In a jaw-dropping twist of economic injustice, sugar millers in Pakistan have raked in a staggering $411 million from sugar exports in fiscal year 2024–25, while local consumers face a bitter reality of shortages and soaring retail prices.
According to official figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, the country exported 0.77 million tons of refined sugar, generating unprecedented revenue. But behind this export success story lies a darker truth — a domestic market left scrambling for basic supply, and consumers punished with a 28% year-on-year price surge, reaching an all-time high of Rs200 per kilogram for the week ending July 17, 2025.
Pakistan rarely exports sugar due to high local demand, yet this year, powerful interests allegedly convinced the government that there was a surplus — a claim that now appears dangerously misleading. In return, the government granted permission for sugar millers to export, under the condition that local supply and prices would remain unaffected.
That promise has proven hollow.
As millers celebrate their export windfall, citizens are struggling to afford a staple commodity. The government, notably silent on the crisis, has now made a U-turn — approving the import of 0.5 million tons of sugar to ease shortages. But this solution comes with its own sting: the imported sugar will enter the market under duty and tax exemptions, ultimately transferring the financial burden back onto the taxpayers.
Critics are now demanding accountability. “This is not just mismanagement — it’s a betrayal,” said one industry analyst. “Who misled the government into exporting sugar during a brewing domestic crisis? Heads must roll.”
There is growing public outrage and calls for a high-level investigation into the decision-making that led to this dual disaster — exporting critical reserves for profit and now importing at national cost.
While sugar millers count their profits, everyday Pakistanis are left to pay the price — quite literally. What was once a kitchen essential has now become a symbol of poor governance and elite exploitation.