On December 3, the Pakistani news outlet The News International reported that Bangladesh had purchased 25,000 tons of sugar from Pakistan. Following this news, several claims began circulating on social media, including the following: 1. Pakistan had imported 500,000 tons of sugar from India in the previous fiscal year, and Bangladesh bought 25,000 tons from this Indian-imported stock. 2. As recently as August 2024, Pakistan imported sugar worth $3.56 million from India. Now, Bangladesh is allegedly importing sugar from Pakistan at higher prices. FactWatch, after an in-depth investigation, found these claims to be false. Their analysis showed that Pakistan exports its domestically produced sugar not only to Bangladesh but also to countries like Thailand, the Middle East, and various Arab-African nations. Therefore, the claim that Bangladesh imported sugar from India via Pakistan is inaccurate and misleading.

Details:
Last Thursday (December 5), a claim was first made through a Facebook post by an account named Hazrat M. Hasan. The post cited reports from Qatar-based news outlet Al Jazeera and Indian magazine The Week as sources for the claim. However, upon verification, it was found that the referenced reports were published on March 31, 2021. The reports reveal that during that time, the Pakistani government lifted a nearly two-year ban on sugar imports from India. Pakistan’s then-Finance Minister Muhammad Azhar announced that the country would permit the import of 500,000 tons of white sugar from India to curb rising domestic prices. Indian magazine The Week corroborated the same information in its coverage.

However, a report published in The Dawn, a Pakistani news outlet, on March 24 of this year reveals that the decision to import sugar from India to Pakistan was retracted within days following intense criticism from the then-opposition parties in Pakistan. This information is also corroborated by reports from the same outlet in 2021 and 2022.

The claim circulating that Pakistan imported 500,000 tons of sugar from India in the last fiscal year, of which 25,000 tons were later sold to Bangladesh, is incorrect. Instead, the claim appears to be based on a 2021 decision by the Pakistani government to purchase sugar from India. However, this decision was subsequently revoked by the government at that time.

The second claim regarding Bangladesh purchasing sugar from Pakistan is that Pakistan itself is an importer of sugar. In 2022, Pakistan imported approximately 219 million metric tons of sugar from India. Additionally, in August 2024 alone, Pakistan imported sugar worth $3.56 million from India. It is now being claimed that Bangladesh is importing sugar from Pakistan at higher prices. However, this assertion is unsubstantiated.
To verify the authenticity of the claim, a keyword search was conducted on the online data visualization and distribution platform, The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC). The platform provided data regarding Pakistan's sugar imports and exports for the year 2022.
In 2022, Pakistan exported sugar worth $5.69 million. That year, Pakistan ranked 89th in the list of sugar-exporting countries. Pakistan exported this sugar to Uzbekistan, China, Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
In contrast, that year, Pakistan imported sugar worth 247 million dollars, according to OIC. Of this, sugar worth 219 million dollars was imported from India. Based on this information, it is being claimed that in 2022, Pakistan imported approximately 219 million metric tons of sugar from India.

Facebook's viral posts are once again claiming that Pakistan imported sugar worth $3.56 million from India in August 2024. However, no evidence has been found to support this claim.

Upon investigation, it has been confirmed that India imposed a ban on sugar exports starting from June 1, 2022. However, the United States and the European Union are exempt from this restriction. Additionally, the Indian government will permit sugar exports to specific countries based on formal requests from their respective governments.

According to a report published on October 26 of the previous year by India’s state-run media outlet DD News, the Indian government has announced an extension of the sugar export ban beyond October 31, 2023, which will remain effective until further notice. Initially, this restriction was imposed from June 1, 2022, to October 31, 2022.

According to a report published by Reuters on September 6 this year, the ban imposed in 2023 remains in effect, and India plans to extend the prohibition for the upcoming year as well.

Pakistan's sugar industry has entered agreements to sell approximately 600,000 tons of sugar this year, according to Pakistan's news outlet The News International. Among the total, 70,000 tons of sugar will be exported to Central Asian countries. Additionally, Thailand has already purchased 50,000 tons of sugar from Pakistan.

According to Majid Malik, an official of Pakistan's sugar traders, Gulf, Arab, and African countries have signed agreements to purchase sugar from Pakistan. The news outlet reports that Pakistan is expected to earn $400-500 million from sugar exports.

Considering the overall context, claims circulating on Facebook that Pakistan is importing sugar from India and selling it in Bangladesh have been debunked as false.

Link: https://www.fact-watch.org/bangladesh-buying-sugar-from-pakistan/