ISLAMABAD: The Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has issued another tender for the import of 200,000 tonnes of sugar, inviting bids by August 21. According to the tender documents, bids for less than 25,000 tonnes will not be accepted.
This is the fourth sugar import tender floated by TCP in the last one month. Earlier, on August 11, TCP opened bids for the import of 100,000 tonnes of sugar to help stabilise local prices. Four companies submitted offers in response to that tender, quoting prices between $539 and $586 per tonne, while one bidder submitted a regret letter.
The lowest bid at $539 per tonne came from ED&F Man Sugar Limited, London, for 50,000 tonnes of small fine grade sugar of any origin except India, Israel or other sanctioned countries. However, it was declared non-responsive due to conditional terms. The second-lowest bid from Bare Syndicate offered Brazilian origin sugar at $550 to $555 per tonne but was also rejected over missing documents and bid security.
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The two responsive bids were from Louis Dreyfus at $580.75 per tonne for 25,000 tonnes of small fine grade sugar and Al Khaleej Sugar at $586 per tonne for 30,000 tonnes of medium grain sugar from the UAE. The bidding was conducted with live TV coverage, and the evaluation was carried out by TCP’s bids evaluation committee.
The federal cabinet last month approved the import of 500,000 tonnes of sugar through TCP to avoid shortages and curb rising prices, which have surged to around Rs 200 per kilogram compared to less than Rs 140 per kilogram at the time of last year’s sugar exports.
To facilitate imports, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has exempted customs duty and reduced sales tax from 18% to 0.25%, along with lowering withholding tax to 0.25% for TCP and private sector imports.
