Banks authorised to process sugar export transactions for eligible mills in Punjab, Sindh under revised quotas

Profit by Pakistan Today reported that the State Bank of Pakistan has cleared banks to handle sugar export payments for qualifying mills in Punjab and Sindh. The step follows revised allocations for each province and each mill, which the food security ministry passed on after the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association supplied them. Mills in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are in a different position, because their province has yet to endorse the quotas.

A memorandum from the ministry, dated October 9, verified that provincial administrations in Punjab and Sindh have signed off on revised quotas for their mills. Lenders will be allowed to process exports from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mills only once the central bank has received and relayed that confirmation. Each shipment has to be secured through a sight letter of credit or an advance payment, and only sea routes are allowed.

Payments under letters of credit still have to arrive within the regulatory window, though no dispatch deadline has been imposed. The central bank also told authorised dealers to run due diligence and confirm that exporters and their transactions are legitimate under the applicable rules.