ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has placed the procurement order for 200,000 metric tons of sugar from the international market, an official statement said on Saturday, adding the first shipment was expected to arrive in the beginning of next month.

The announcement came amid growing concerns over a sugar crisis that has gripped parts of the country, with prices surging to Rs200 ($0.71) per kilogram in many areas, which is well above the government’s official cap of Rs173 ($0.61). The situation occurs frequently in Pakistan amid accusations of hoarding and cartelization. It also leads to public outrage and criticism from opposition parties.

Last month, leading Pakistani economists told Arab News the crisis owed to weak regulatory enforcement and a lack of industrial transparency, both of which hamper effective market oversight.

“The final order for sugar imports has been placed,” the Ministry of National Food Security and Research said in a statement. “The first shipment of imported sugar will arrive in Pakistan in early September 2025.”

The ministry said the procurement process entered its final phase after the government floated a tender, and successfully secured a discount through international negotiations.

“The purpose of the import is to ensure the availability of sugar in the market and maintain price stability,” the statement said. “The arrival of imported sugar will help keep prices balanced in the local market and directly benefit consumers.”

However, experts warned last month such measures only offered temporary relief.

Dr. Khaqan Najeeb, Pakistan’s former finance adviser, told Arab News in a recent conversation the sugar sector’s persistent crises underscore the urgent need to move beyond “reactive firefighting” and adopt structured, technology-enabled and market-aligned regulatory frameworks.

“Addressing this challenge requires deep policy expertise and a commitment to serious, evidence-based reform,” he continued

Najeeb outlined several critical reforms for the sugar sector, including improving per-acre crop yields, deregulating the market, enforcing anti-cartel legislation, using digital tools to monitor the supply chain, and setting transparent, formula-based pricing mechanisms that ensure timely payments to farmers.

“These are not quick fixes — they demand consistent, hard work,” he added. “But after years of misaligned interventions through poorly timed exports and imports, one thing is clear: there is no easy solution, only the hard path of structural reform.”