HYDERABAD: Out of a total of 38 sugar mills in Sindh, 31 have started cane crushing by Nov 21 – the date fixed by federal government – but this season’s sugar cane crop procurement rate has not been fixed as yet.

A few more sugar mills intend to start cane crushing in the next few days. Export of sugar was allowed by federal government on October 11, through Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), which set the export volume at 500,000 tonnes on condition that mills across the country would start cane crushing by Nov 21.

The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) had earlier hinted that its members would not start cane crushing unless export of the available sugar stocks was allowed. It had placed such advertisements in newspapers as well in September. Subsequently, ECC accepted its demand.

In 2023-24, Sindh government had fixed sugar cane rate at Rs425 per 40kg but a notification fixing 2024-25 crop’s procurement rate has not been issued as yet. “A rate of Rs400 per 40kg is being offered by a sugar factory in our area [Matiari],” said Nadeem Shah, a sugar cane grower from this district. He said that last year, Rs425 per 40kg price was notified and it jacked up to Rs500 due to competition among mills to buy more cane.

Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) President Mahmood Nawaz Shah said that the rate should have been announced by now. He said that when Sindh government had presented its price assessment for this year’s sugar cane, he had not pressed SAB’s demand of Rs490 per 40kg given the production cost of sugar cane. He described Sindh government’s proposal for fixing the rate at Rs475 as somewhat logical. He, however, hinted that if government did not issue price notification, SAB could file a petition in Sindh High Court against the delay.

Mr Shah was of the view that farmers were currently busy agitating against Centre’s controversial canals project therefore their attention was diverted to that issue as well.

In Punjab also, no notification in respect of sugar cane procurement rate has been announced. Stakeholders there believed that the provincial government appeared in no mood to fix the fresh crop’s price.

Pakistan Kissan Ittehad President Khalid Mehmood Khokhar said that sugar cane price must be increased in view of rising cost of agricultural inputs and high electricity tariff.

Punjab’s leading sugar mill owner Jehangir Khan Tareen, who owns such factories in Ghotki district as well, is said to have decided to offer a rate of Rs400 per 40kg to cane growers realising that the cost of production had increased.

Sindh had produced 2.02m tonnes of sugar and 19.28m tonnes of cane was crushed in 2023-24, recording a 10.37pc recovery percentage as per Sindh Cane Commissioner office’s figures. When compared with the figures of 2022-23 crop season, 16.79m tonnes of sugar cane crop were crushed to produce 1.74m tonnes of sugar with a lesser recovery percentage of 10.16pc.

Published in Dawn, November 22th, 2024