SUGAR, primarily, is still obtained from cane, but sugar beet can be a viable alternative due to its increased yield per acre and low consumption of water. The tuber of sugar beet plant, Beta vulgaris, contains high concentration of sucrose.

Most areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and a few areas of Punjab and Sindh are suitable for growing sugar beet. Four varieties of the crop are grown, out of which, one with higher concentration of sucrose is suitable for commercial production of sugar; other varieties are consumed as vegetable.

Sugar beet has been cultivated in KP since mid-60s for making sugar. At present there are four mills — Charsadda, Khazana, Premier and Frontier — equipped with technology to produce beet sugar. Over a decade ago, these mills processed a maximum of 2.26 lakh tonnes of sliced beet, producing 17,276 tonnes of sugar and 8,624 tonnes of molasses. Latest figures were not immediately available.

In view of the increasing water scarcity, authorities are mulling introduction of this crop in the coastal areas of Sindh and parts of Punjab. A project to introduce sugar beet cultivation in new areas has also been initiated. As of now, sugar beet is cultivated on a very small scale in Sindh. The reported area under cultivation is about 100 hectares. However, beet can be grown in lower Sindh where climate is more favourable than in Punjab. It can be grown on marginal and saline lands, says Lateef Chandio, a beet grower in Sindh. However, sugar mills in Sindh do not have the requisite beet processing facilities.

Sugarcane is a high delta crop requiring intensive watering (30 times) and occupying land for 10-14 months, whereas a low delta crop, like sugar beet, occupies land for only 4-5 months and needs fewer watering (eight times), a grower said.

Some farmers are striving to replace sugarcane with sugar beet to save water and maximise land utilisation, said a cane grower in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Tahir Khaskheli. KP grows cane and sugar beet on commercial scale in the same field simultaneously. In the region, cane is commercially cultivated on over 100 thousand hectares, while beet on nearly 7,000 hectares. According to reports, at present KP occupies 98 per cent of the national sugar beet area contributing 99 per cent to the total yield.

Sugar beet is cultivated in Rabi season. October is an ideal month for its sowing. The crop sown in October is ready for harvest in April-May. Experiments have shown that if beet root is farmed alongside sugarcane in September, it will provide a bumper harvest and ensure increased sugar production.

Average yield of beet in the country is 29.7 tonnes/ha which is only one-tenth of the world average of 291.8 tonnes/ha. The beet rots fast, hence, it needs to be transported to the mills to get processed at the earliest to save it from both yield and quality deterioration. Therefore, location of sugar beet mill near the raw material source is critical.

As there is a difference of technology for producing sugar from cane and beet, beet technology is required to be installed in mills. However, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) says that sugar from beet can be obtained with minor extensions in the existing sugar mills.

Some millers are reported have approached the ministry of industries to provide incentives for the promotion of sugar production from beet in view of water shortages faced by cane growers.

The data of a sugar mill in KP has revealed that the cost of sugar made from beet is slightly costlier because of absence of bagasse in case of beet to heat the boilers. But the cost can be reduced by coal-firing system.

According to media reports, a fact-finding mission on beet cultivation by Smeda had revealed that the country would not be able to produce sufficient amount of sugar from cane in the future. It also reported that sugar beet can produce almost two times higher sugar yield per hectare with less water and other input resources in a short period as compared to sugarcane that needs a much longer period.

The federal minister of agriculture has stated in reports appearing in the press that in view of the water problem, high water-requiring crop of cane may be replaced with lower water-requiring sugar beet. Sugar experts have, however, warned the government to desist from any hasty decision detrimental to the interest of the farmers and the industry.

The FAO data show that in 2010, sugar beet was cultivated in Pakistan on an area of 2,300 hectares, producing 53,336 tonnes. It compared the data with the 58 million tonnes sugar cane produced on an area over one million hectares in 2011-12.