Beetroot can boost sugar exports: FPCCI Convener

LAHORE, Mar 15 (APP): With coherent policy support, sustained investment, and market-driven ambition, the beetroot sugar could emerge as one of Pakistan’s most quietly transformative agricultural success stories.

Convener of FPCCI Regional Committee on Food, Shahid Imran stated this in a meeting with progressive farmers delegation led by Ms Sana Abdullah Chaudhry here Sunday

Pakistan’s beetroot sugar export, he added, are still small in volume with one percent share in total sugar production of the country, whereas globally, beet is cornerstone of industrial agriculture. Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait have emerged as primary destinations, driven by demand for refined and specialty sugar products. Export prices averaged over USD 3,300 per tonne in 2024, signalling improving quality, packaging, and market acceptance, he mentioned.

Shahid Imran was of view that expanding beetroot sugar can reduce dependence on sugarcane; smooth seasonal supply fluctuations; conserve water resources; and unlock non-traditional export revenues.

“At a time when climate volatility and global price swings threaten agricultural stability, diversification is not simply prudent – it is essential,” he remarked.

The Convener said, sugar beet cultivation remains concentrated in regions with favourable temperatures, soil structure, and irrigation access. Farmers in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have beginning to recognise that sugar beet is not merely a substitute crop, but a structural solution to rising water stress, declining soil health, and volatile cane pricing, he added.

For decades, he said, sugarcane has dominated Pakistan’s sweetener landscape, consuming vast quantities of water and tying the country’s sugar economy to a single crop cycle. Beetroot sugar, by contrast, offers a compelling alternative. It requires 30-40 percent less water than sugarcane, matures in five to six months instead of 12-14, and delivers higher sugar recovery rates, often ranging between 14 percent and 18 percent, compared to sugarcane average of 9-10 percent.