24 sugar mills got nearly Rs12 billion in subsidies in 2017 and 2019, probe finds

ISLAMABAD: As many as 24 sugar mills received Rs11.8 billion in freight subsidies from the federal and Punjab governments in 2017 and 2019 combined, official data submitted to the commission probing the sugar crisis has revealed.

Nearly Rs9.4 billion was released in 2017 — under the subsidy scheme on exports — by then prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif, notes data prepared by the State Bank of Pakistan for the inquiry commission tasked with probing the recent hike in sugar prices. Of the amount, the Centre and Punjab government gave near equal subsidies to the sugar mills.

Later, in 2019, 15 of the 24 mills — located in Punjab — received nearly Rs2.5 billion released by the incumbent chief minister Usman Buzdar, as per official data seen by Geo.tv.

In 2016 and 2017, the federal cabinet's Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) allowed the export of two million metric tonnes of sugar, with the support price of Rs10.70 per kg.

Those who benefited included the JDW Group which is owned by Jahangir Khan Tareen, a senior PTI leader. Tareen was the principal beneficiary of the total subsidies dispensed. His mill received Rs2.3 billion during the PML-N tenure of which JDW took home Rs1.8 billion as freight support on sugar exports from the Punjab and federal governments.

Last year, Tareen’s second unit, JK Sugar Mills Pvt. Ltd, received Rs5 million from the Punjab chief minister.

Others, such as Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar who belongs to the ruling party, businessman Chaudhry Munir, and PML-Q’s Chaudhry Moonis Elahi, received Rs2.8 billion collectively from the federal and Punjab governments as freight support on exports in 2017 and 2019.

The breakdown of subsidies is as follows:

• Two Star Industries Pvt. Ltd received a subsidy of nearly Rs1.2 billion from the Centre and Punjab in 2017 and nearly Rs180 million in 2019 from the Punjab government.

• The RYK Mills Ltd., owned by Bakhtiar’s family, received nearly Rs889 million in 2017 from the Centre and Punjab and almost Rs89 million in 2019 from the Punjab government.

• Two units of Etihad Sugar Mills Ltd, jointly owned by Bakhtiar’s family and the Chaudhrys, received nearly Rs370 million from the Punjab and federal governments in 2017 and nearly Rs184 million from the Punjab government in 2019.

• Hunza Sugar Mills Ltd. got nearly Rs1.6 billion from the federal and Punjab governments in 2017 and more than Rs429 million from Punjab in 2019. The owners of the company are Chaudhry Idrees, Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed and Chaudhry Waheed.

• Shamim Khan — a cousin of Jahangir Tareen — and his son, Nauman Khan, got more than Rs1 billion as subsidy from the Centre as well as from the government of Punjab in 2017 and 2019 combined. Their unit Al-Moiz Industries received nearly Rs242 million, while the Thal Industries Corporation Ltd. got nearly Rs165 million from Punjab government during 2019. Meanwhile, these units collectively got nearly Rs670 million from the federal and Punjab governments in 2017.

• Indus Sugar Mill got more than Rs365 million as subsidy from the federal and Punjab governments during 2017 and 2019. The unit is owned by family of Sardar Nasrullah Khan. In 2017, it received nearly Rs217 million from the Centre and Punjab, whereas in 2019, it was awarded more than Rs148 million export subsidy by the Punjab government.

• Mian Faisal Mukhtar, owner of Fatima Sugar Mills Ltd., got approximately Rs1.51 billion in subsidy from both the federal and Punjab governments in 2017 and 2019 combined. In 2019, the subsidy amounted to nearly Rs249 million. The mill’s owner and directors, Fahd and Fawad Mukhtar, had previously worked with the PML-Q.

• Noon Sugar Mills Ltd., owned by Adnan Hayat Noon, got nearly Rs196 million as subsidy from the federal and Punjab governments in 2017 and 2019. Adnan Hayat is from the family of Malik Feroz Khan Noon, the former prime minister of Pakistan.

• Popular Sugar Mills Ltd., owned by Imamuddin, got nearly Rs95 million as freight support from the federal and Punjab government in 2017.

• Jauharabad Sugar Mills, owned by Sheikh Ahsan Altaf, got nearly Rs74 million as subsidy from the federal and Punjab government on sugar export in 2017 and 2019 combined.

• Tandlianwala Sugar Mills Ltd. got more than Rs16 million from the Centre and Punjab as sugar export subsidy in 2017. The mill is owned by brothers, Haroon and Hamayun Akhtar.

• Pattoki Sugar Mills Ltd., owned by Chaudhry Aslam, got more than Rs5 million from the Centre and Punjab government as subsidy in 2017.

• Husein Sugar Mills Ltd., owned by Mian Ahmed, got subsidy of more than Rs32 million from the federal and Punjab governments in 2017.

• Hamza Sugar Mills Ltd. of late Haji Nisar got subsidy worth nearly Rs213 million from the federal and provincial government in 2017.

• Darya Khan Sugar Mills Ltd., also owned by Chaudhry Aslam, got a subsidy of more than Rs4.2 million from Punjab and the Centre in 2017.

• Ashraf Sugar Mills Ltd., owned by Zaka Ashraf, got subsidy worth more than Rs72 million from the Punjab and federal governments in 2017.

• Sheikhoo Sugar Mills got Rs456 million collectively from federal and Punjab governments as subsidy during 2017 and 2019. The unit got subsidy of nearly Rs374 million in 2017 from Punjab and the Centre, and more than Rs56 million in 2019 from Punjab government. Seth Anis owns this unit.

• Huda Sugar Mills Ltd., owned by Mohan Lal, got a subsidy worth more than Rs276 million from the Punjab and Centre in 2017 and 2019 combined.

• Ramzan Sugar Mills, owned by Suleman Shahbaz, son of former Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif, got nearly Rs236 million from the federal and Punjab government collectively as subsidy in 2017.

• Javid Shafi, relative of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, got almost Rs210 million from the Centre and Punjab government as subsidy in 2017. The unit is named Kashmir Sugar Mills Ltd.

• Adam Sugar Mills Ltd, owned by Seth Umar Memon, got nearly Rs235 million from the federal and Punjab governments as subsidy in 2017.