A Dubai based trading firm sold sugar to Pakistan at 18 percent lower than global benchmark but could not supply the entire quantity demanded in the recently issued tender, reports indicate Friday.
Through the government managed Trading Corporation of Pakistan, Islamabad had issued a tender to purchase 200,000 tons of sugar.
But the country purchased 50,000 metric tons of refined sugar at $585 a ton from Sadan General Trading LLC, a Dubai based firm , reports Bloomberg.
The price is 18 percent below the current rate in London, a global benchmark for refined sugar. Sadan was unable to supply more at the contracted prices.
The Trading Corporation of Pakistan on Feb. 11 scrapped a tender to buy 150,000 tons of white sugar after a dispute with the lowest bidder.
Pakistan requires a total 1.2 million tons to bridge a gap in supplies that has pushed prices to near a record. It plans to import 500,000 tons by June and another 700,000 tons by July.
Ibrahim Sajid Malick is a Pakistani-American writer, technologist, and social entrepreneur. He has been writing on Pakistani society and politics since 1986. He has held several media, communications, and technology positions for organizations large and small. Mr. Malick graduated from New School for Social Research with a master’s degree in anthropology. He holds several technology and management certifications. He works for a leading technology firm and blogs at www.ibrahimsajidmalick.com
That Pakistani bureaucRATS would buy anything under market price is unbelievable. There must be some deception or other crooKKKed aspect to that deal. IQBAL JAFREE