TCP clarifies ECC directives on sugar price stability

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has reportedly not assigned any responsibility to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) for ensuring domestic sugar availability or price stability in the local market, according to official documents and a clarification issued by TCP. TCP, in a clarification regarding a news report published in Business Recorder on September 3, 2026, titled “ECC directs TCP to ensure domestic sugar availability, price stability, ” said the report created an incorrect impression that the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet had directed the corporation to ensure that disposal or export of imported sugar would not adversely affect domestic availability and prices. According to TCP, under the Rules of Business, 1973, the responsibility for price stabilisation of domestic food commodities falls within the domain of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R), and not TCP. TCP stated that while approving the summary submitted by MNFS&R regarding permission for export of sugar imported by the corporation, the ECC was cognisant of the division of responsibilities and accordingly deleted a proposed clause that sought to place the responsibility on TCP. The deleted sentence stated: “TCP shall also ensure that the disposal/export does not adversely affect domestic sugar availability and prices. ” TCP maintained that although the Business Recorder report mentioned the deletion of the sentence in its closing section, it did not adequately explain that the clause was removed because responsibility for maintaining stability in the domestic market rests with the Ministry of National Food Security and Research. “The headline therefore creates a very wrong perception, ” TCP said in its clarification. According to the official decision of the ECC seen by Business Recorder, the committee considered the summary dated August 18, 2026, submitted by MNFS&R titled “Permission for the Export of Sugar Imported by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP)”. The ECC approved the summary with the exclusion of the sentence requiring TCP to ensure that disposal/export of the imported sugar did not adversely affect domestic sugar availability and prices. The decision therefore made it clear that no such responsibility was retained against TCP in relation to domestic sugar availability and price stability. The federal cabinet has subsequently ratified the ECC’s decision. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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