QUETTA: Customs Enforcement Baluchistan is pursuing a campaign against the smuggling of sugar and recovered huge quantity of sugar, which was being smuggled to neighboring country.
On the directives of Chief collector Baluchistan Muhammad Saleem and collector Enforcement Quetta Samiul Haq, Additional collector Aftabullah Shah and Deputy Collector Ubaidullah launched a crackdown across the province and operations were conducted in remote and sensitive areas of the province.
Assistant collectors, superintendent, inspectors and Class-IV staff have efficiently checked the smuggling of commodity.
Customs Baluchistan foiled attempts to smuggle 848 tons of sugar in the last two weeks. Similarly, during July 2022 to April 2023, Customs Baluchistan recovered 2594 tons of sugar worth millions of rupees.
It may be mentioned here that the Prime Minister has ordered strict vigilance on the smuggling of essential commodities abroad.
Sugar smuggling abroad can have various effects:
Loss of government revenue: If sugar is smuggled out of a country, it can lead to a loss of government revenue because the smugglers do not pay taxes or duties on the sugar.
Price distortion: Smuggling can lead to price distortions in both the exporting and importing countries. In the exporting country, the price of sugar may be artificially inflated due to the shortage created by smuggling. In the importing country, the price of sugar may be artificially lowered due to the influx of smuggled sugar.
Damage to local sugar industry: Sugar smuggling can harm the local sugar industry in the importing country by creating an unfair competition. Domestic sugar producers may not be able to compete with the lower prices of smuggled sugar and may go out of business.
Health issues: The availability of cheap, smuggled sugar can lead to increased consumption of sugar and related health problems such as obesity and diabetes.
Criminal activity: Sugar smuggling is often associated with criminal activity such as bribery, corruption, and money laundering. This can have a negative impact on the overall security and stability of a country.
Overall, sugar smuggling abroad can have serious economic, social, and health consequences for both the exporting and importing countries, and efforts should be made to prevent it.