Kierstin Lilly
10:02 pm
9/22/10
Pakistan now has to import raw sugar to meet the country’s demand after the flood damage to their sugar cane crop. The country consumes four million tons of sugar a year and “needs shipments to bolster supply and reduce record domestic prices.” The flooding that began in July has caused seven billion dollars worth of damage and the farm output, thought to expand 3.8 percent that year, “may shrink 1.7 percent because of crop damage.” The price of sugar rose a major 38 percent putting the price near $1.05 per kilogram.
The article gives a very brief overview of this rather serious situation. The flooding began only a couple of months ago and therefore it is still, and should be noted, as a serious situation. I would like to see the article show more interest in the damage done to the environment and the people that the flooding has affected. If the country is having to import sugar due to the four million tons of sugar consumed a year not being met, then the farm output should be stated as more server than this article gives credit. The article also mentions the “duty-free import” that Pakistan approved but it does not inform the reader of what a duty free import, or what the abolishment of a 25 percent duty on raw sugar exactly means. Overall, the article supplies the reader with the necessary information to come to one’s own conclusion about the current situation on sugar in Pakistan, but seriousness of the environmental impact is lacking.
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