Case
NOTE ON THE PAKISTAN SUGAR INDUSTRY
INDUSTRY :-
AREA :INDUSTRY & COMPETITIVE STRATEGY
ORGANIZATION :-
LENGTH :24
LUMS No :29-001-2011-1
PUBLICATION YEAR : 2011
ABSTRACT:
The sugar Industry Note is developed around the sugar price crisis which emerged during 2010. The shortage of sugar is a recurring phenomenon in Pakistan. Various players having stakes in the availability of this item usually jump into the fray to ensure that when there are shortages prices are not allowed to rise to a level where these begin to affect every household. While most of the owners of individual mills are politically influential who can pull policy strings in their favor, their interests are also safeguarded by their representative body called Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA). The Note describes the stakes of various important players in the industry such as; Farmers, Sugar Producers, Government, Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) and above all, the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP). The Note raises some pertinent questions; Was the current crisis a one-off situation or could it repeat itself? What, if any, was the role of the government when free market forces failed to self-correct? And above all, what should be the role of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) in preventing the cartels from emerging either within the sugar industry, or any other industry?