KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has urged the ministry of commerce to allow the export of jaggery (gurr) and brown sugar, a statement said.

Unisame President Zulfikar Thaver said that since the sugar export is allowed and the earlier notification is amended to allow export of sugar, jaggery exports should also be allowed.

The export of jaggery was banned although the ministry of commerce had no intention to ban the export of the commodity as its exports are hardly one per cent of the total sugar production, he added.

The exports will not affect the local sugar market as it has a negligible percentage. There is a need to allow jaggery exports whether sugar is exported or not, as it is an occupation of many Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) farmers and exporters, Thaver said.

The SME jaggery producers are awaiting the notification to resume the export of jaggery and raw sugar as they are getting enquiries from their global customers, he said, adding that when the ban was imposed the old customers started buying from India and China.

The Unisame council members said that a senior officer of the ministry admitted that jaggery was banned mistakenly and the union was assured that when ban on the sugar is lifted, the export of jaggery will automatically be allowed. The member urged the ministry of commerce to do the needful to allow exports.

On the behest of SME farmers the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) and the ministry of industries and production had also urged the ministry of commerce to allow exports of jaggery and brown sugar and also made a plan to help the producers and processors to modernise their units.

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