HE government`s plan to import 350,000 tonnes of sugar, months after allowing the export of more than twice that a amount under pressure from the politically powerful sugar lobby, is not shocking, or even unexpected. If anything, it reflects the old, familiar policymaking pattern where the interests of influential lobbies are prioritised over public interest. This is not the first time such short-sighted decisions have been made. In the past, we have repeatedly seen the authorities permit export of commodities like sugar, wheat, and cotton, only to later import them at higher prices. These policy reversals, forced by business lobbies, place a heavy burden on both the national exchequer and consumers.

In this case, mill owners who have been accused of acting as a cartel, and penalised for this by the Competition Commission of Pakistan were allowed to ship out sugar despite warnings that the decision would affect domestic supply and hike its retail prices. Those fears have now materialised, highlighting the influence millers, some of whom occupy top political offices and sit on both sides of the aisle in parliament, enjoy in policymaking. The national food security minister`s recent statement, claiming that sugar is being imported to `stabilise domestic prices and ensure the availability of affordable, quality sugar,` confirms the concerns raised at the time of the export approval. The export decision had ensured that millers, who had made handsome profits from exports, found a second windfall in the surging domestic prices, which have since hit Rs200 per kilo in some parts of the country. Even the retail price of Rs164 per kilo agreed between the government and millers was 13pc higher than the cap set during the export approval period. The whole sugar saga shows how Pakistan`s commodity markets are routinely manipulated by vested interests with successive governments regardless of which party is in power aiding and abetting them. The continuation of this practice, dictated by political expediency, and personal financial and political interests, points to a deep rot in Pakistan`s trade policy framework. Sugar will continue to leave a bitter taste in the mouths of millions of inflation-stricken Pakistanis unless the government reforms its policymaking processes and holds accountable those who serve special interests at the expense of common people.