HYDERABAD, Oct 7: The Sindh Abadgar Board on Tuesday expressed the fear that the sugarcane production was most likely to drop by 30 per cent in Sindh this year and the country would have to import the commodity if the sugar mills were not reined in.

SAB Secretary-General Mehmood Nawaz Shah in a communication to the prime minister appealed to him to impress on the sugar mills the urgency to pay Rs1.5 billion dues to growers for the sugarcane supplied during last year’s crushing season. Thanks to the mills the growers were in deep financial crisis although they had produced bumper crop during 2007-08, he said.

The growers had decided to approach the prime minister as a last resort after having exhausted all options to persuade the mills to pay them dues, he said.

Throwing light on the step by step development of crisis, he said that the Sindh government had fixed minimum price of sugarcane at Rs67 per 40kg at the outset of crushing season in 2007, which was the same as fixed in 2006 but again on Jan 21, 2008, the government buckled under pressure and revised the price downwards to Rs63 per 40kg.

It took the decision without taking into consideration the extraordinary increase in prices of agricultural inputs, still the growers agreed to the new price in the spirit of cooperation, survival of industry and reduction in sugar prices, he said.

According to the Sugarcane Control Act, the farmers were supposed to receive payments within seven days of the end of crushing season but the mill had still not paid them the huge amount of Rs1.5 billion.

Only Ghotki, Habib and Matiari sugar mills had paid dues in accordance with the above notifications and many mills had even failed to issue bills to the growers, hence they were still unaware of rates, deductions in weight of sugarcane and other necessary details, he said.

In addition, some sugar mills had paid only Rs57 per 40kg to growers in blatant violation of government notifications, besides making illegal and arbitrary deductions in supply of sugarcane on one pretext or the other, he said.

Mr Shah said that it took 18 to 24 months for the cane crop in Sindh to mature and the undue delay in payment of dues had pushed the growers deep into crisis.

Many growers had already switched over to alternate crops and if the trend continued it would turn the once sugar surplus country into a sugar deficit country.

He said that the price of sugar had jumped from Rs20 to 30 per kilogram but to no advantage to growers and appealed to the prime minister to make the mills honour government’s notifications by directing them to clear outstanding dues.

He remarked that the cartels were the greatest threats to Pakistan’s economy and expressed the fear that the sugarcane production was most likely to drop by 30 per cent in Sindh this year. If the situation did not improve Pakistan would have to import sugar, he warned.