The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has renewed its call for full deregulation of the sugar industry.
In a statement issued after a general body meeting, the PSMA stressed that the sugar sector generates over Rs. 1,000 billion in economic activity annually and contributes approximately Rs. 225 billion in taxes.
It also supports import substitution worth $4 billion and supplies electricity to the national grid through bagasse-based power generation.
The Association highlighted the potential of by-products like ethanol, noting that with appropriate policy support, ethanol blending could replace 7 percent of the country’s gasoline consumption. It called for the revival of the Ethanol Blending Policy introduced in 2009 but later discontinued.
The Association urged permanent deregulation to improve yield, sucrose recovery, and export capacity. It also welcomed the federal government’s recent formation of a committee on sugar sector deregulation, discussed during the Sugar Advisory Board meeting on July 17, 2025.
PSMA said it remains hopeful the government will enable the sugar industry to operate freely.