Rahim Yar Khan: In what appears to be a deliberate move, sugar mills in Punjab have refused to start the sugarcane crushing season from November 25, as the standoff between the government and the mills over permission to export the sweet continues.
The delay in crushing, despite the issuance of permits to start the 2022-23 season, has added to the woes of growers, especially those who expected sugar mills to start this weekend. I had reaped my harvest.
Sugar mills of Punjab, in a message to farmers directly or on social media platforms, said that due to some technical issues, sugarcane crushing could not be started on November 25, as announced earlier.
Farmers started harvesting sugarcane after the Punjab government announced a support price of Rs 300 per 40 kg for the 2022-23 crushing season. Along with this, sugar mills started issuing permits for supply to farmers from November 25.
According to sources, the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has directed the mills not to start the crushing season until the government gives permission to export sugar. Farmers say thousands of acres of land have been harvested and the announcement by the mills has put them in dire straits.
Sugar Advisory Board Chairman Tariq Bashir Cheema, who is also the Minister for Food Security, has said that allowing the export of sugar will increase its prices in the country. Cheema recently told the National Assembly that in the past, sugar was exported at a low price and later imported at a high price.
Now, PSMA is discussing the matter with the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister. However, farmers face conflicts between the mills and the authorities. The mills want the government to buy the stock they need for domestic consumption and allow them to export the rest to improve their liquidity.
Sugarcane is cultivated in many parts of the country. Districts of Bahawalpur Division of Punjab and Sukkur Division of Sindh account for 62% of total sugarcane cultivation and production. In these districts, it is reported that crops have been largely spared from the recent devastating floods.
According to the data, the damage to the sugarcane crop in the affected districts of Sindh is estimated to be 10 to 12 percent. Experts say that sugarcane is a hardy crop so it was spared from the floods, but it could affect sugar production.
According to various reports, sugarcane production from an area of 1.32 million hectares is estimated at 81.64 million tonnes for 2022-23, which would show an increase of 12.44% and 6.23% in area and production, respectively, as compared to the targets set by the government. Is.
The expected shortfall in production for the 2022-23 season is estimated at 7 million tonnes. But despite the slight decline in production, growers as well as industry sources believe there will still be an exportable surplus at the end of next year’s season.
Zahid Bhargari, General Secretary of Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, says that ‘Minister Cheema is only worried about the export of sugar, but during his tenure, the prices of other food items such as ghee, oil, wheat, flour and onions have increased’. (SGA) said.
Sugar prices have been stable since last crushing season. There are official reports that the production and storage of sugar in the country is more than the national requirement,” Bhargari told JEE News.
According to a senior SGA official, most sugar-consuming industries, such as beverage companies, confectionery factories, have gradually increased the prices of their products despite the low price of sugar in the domestic market.
Keeping in view the country’s need, Bhargari suggested that the government could procure sugar stock through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and allow the export of the excess stock so that the sugar mills could pay sugarcane farmers. can
Kisan Bachao Tehreek Chairman Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin said that small and big farmers want to cultivate sugarcane crop as soon as possible so that their land can be freed for wheat cultivation, he stressed that if timely decision is not taken, the country will A wheat crisis may arise. .
