SBP puts KP sugar exports on hold until the province endorses its share of 200,000 tonnes

Sugar exports by mills in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are on hold. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) told banks on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, not to process export deals for KP-based mills under the 200,000-tonne sugar export quota until the KP government endorses its share, Business Recorder reported from the SBP circular. Mills in Punjab and Sindh can carry on.

What the SBP circular says

The circular, titled "Revised Instructions - Export of 200,000 MT of Sugar", is addressed to authorised dealers, the banks that handle export proceeds and foreign exchange paperwork.

• Punjab and Sindh: banks may process exports by eligible mills within their revised quotas, which both provincial governments have endorsed, subject to the existing conditions.
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: exports are on hold. The circular says the KP government's endorsement "is still awaited" and will be passed on to banks when the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) receives it.

How the quota got here

• September 2026: the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet allowed the export of 200,000 metric tons of sugar with conditions, and the federal cabinet ratified the decision.
• 9 October 2026: MNFSR sent SBP revised province-wise and mill-wise quotas received from the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), and corrected the names of three mills.
• 13 October 2026: SBP issued the revised instructions, with KP's share held back.

The circular, as reported, gives no reason for the missing KP endorsement beyond saying it has not yet arrived. It comes in the same week as the federal government's emergency measures in KP, but neither SBP nor the ministry has linked the two, and we have not either.

Why it matters for sugar prices at home

The export quota was allowed because mills reported a surplus. In September, PSMA warned that unsold stocks could delay the next crushing season, when the retail price stood at about Rs 145.59 a kilogram (our September report). Exports draw down that stock; a delay for KP mills means their sugar stays on the domestic market for now.

For shoppers, nothing changes overnight: the hold affects which mills may ship, not the overall 200,000-tonne ceiling. What would matter is whether the export quota is cut or the crushing season starts late, both of which would show up in retail prices weeks later.

What happens next

KP mills can resume once MNFSR forwards the provincial endorsement to SBP. Exporters' foreign earnings are converted at the interbank rate; the rupee closed near Rs 276.96 to the dollar today on our dollar rate page, and you can convert any amount with the currency converter.