KARACHI, March 1: Pakistani importers have booked 380,000 tons of sugar since January when the government scrapped a 25-per cent import duty in an attempt to check the runaway domestic prices, a government official said on Tuesday.

A finance ministry official said importers have booked around 270,000 tons of raw and 110,000 tons of refined sugar by Feb 28. "These figures have been reported to us by various banks," he said on condition of anonymity.

"Our estimate is that another 10,000 to 15,000 tons would be booked in the next few days," the official said. Pakistanis expected to import not more than 400,000 tons of sugar this season, he added.

Pakistan's domestic sugar production is expected to slip to 3.1-3.2 million tons in the current season (Nov.-March), compared with 4.0 million the previous year. The country's annual sugar consumption is around 3.6 million tons, officials said.

The domestic sugar output dropped because of the water shortage which slashed the sugarcane crop to 47.3 million tons this year compared with 52 million tons the previous year.

Last month, the government also abolished a six-per cent withholding tax on imported sugar to cover the domestic shortfall and check the prices. Traders said that the domestic sugar prices started softening as the first ship carrying 33,300 tons of Brazilian raw sugar arrived on Monday.

On Tuesday, domestic sugar prices hovered at Rs25-26 per kg - down from a four-year high of Rs30 in the first week of February. Traders said another ship carrying 41,500 tons raw sugar, booked by the Swiss-based US firm Cargill Inc, was expected to arrive at Karachi in the first week of March.

"We will see a major drop in the domestic prices as the supplies have started picking up," said a Karachi-based trader. The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association has asked the government to cap the duty-free unlimited import of sugar till they release their final production figures by end March.

"After the 400,000 duty-free imports, we will be having surplus stocks," Zaka Asharf, association's chairman, told Reuters. "Along with 3.14 million tons of sugar output this season, the government still has around 375,000 tons of buffer stocks," he said.

"We believe that around four million tons of sugar will be available in the market if we add 400,000 of imports in it," he said. Millers are concerned that imports will slash their profits by reducing domestic prices.