February 4, 2002	Monday	Ziqa’ad 20, 1422

AFTER textiles, there is a large network of sugar industry in Pakistan, which plays an important role in the economy through about 77 sugar mills in the country.

These mills provide job opportunities to more than 0.2 million people and pay more than Rs10 billion to the government annually in the form of taxes and cess funds. Currently, there is more than one million hectares of land used for sugarcane cultivation which produces more than three million tonnes of white sugar annually.

The socio-economic growth of the majority of rural population in the provinces of Sindh, Punjab and NWFP is linked with the sugar industry. The sugar industry is perhaps the only industry which can be cited as a model for agro-based industries in the country. Some of these sugar mills are in direct contact with farmers solving their seed, fertilisers and pesticides problems. However, for the last few years, there is a confrontation between growers and millers over the issue of price. Growers demand higher price for their raw material and millers complain of the higher cost of production and the import of sugar by the government which affects the market price of sugar. The situation is quite complex but I would like to throw some light on the issue on the basis of my long association with growers and millers.

Growers are the persons who produce sugar in their fields and unfortunately our national sugarcane yield is hardly 46 tonnes per hectare,— lowest in the world. Similarly, sugar recovery is also on the lowest side. However, even with present acreage and recovery, we can easily produce four million tonnes of sugar if sugarcane yields are increased to 60 tonnes per hectare. Though there is potential of 75 to 80 tonnes of cane yield and 10 per cent sugar recovery as compared to our present 8 to 8.5 per cent.

As the raw material is produced by growers, they should know that millers need sugarcane and not ‘cane’. Growers, plant high cane-yielding and low-sugar recovery varieties, which badly affect the efficiency of factories and consequently the cost of production is increased. In NWFP and Punjab, where ‘gur” is produced, growers intentionally supply low-sugar varieties to mills and high-sugar varieties are converted into ‘gur’. On the other hand, growers complain of high costs of inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, labour wages, electricity. diesel and related factors. The shortage of irrigation water is another serious problem which adversely affects production. Under these circumstances, growers demand higher price for their raw material, which is resisted by millers which affects the operation of sugar factories disturbed during the crushing season.

Most of the meetings between growers, millers and the government remain unfruitful as everything is done on ad hoc basis. Growers’ bodies hold meetings, press conferences and demonstrations to stress their demands. However the problem remains a problem and questions remain unanswered: will increase in the price of the raw material solve the problem permanently? What will be the effect of this increase on the sugar market price as well as on consumers including growers? In fact, the answers to these questions lie with the government.

Some of the important inputs like fertilizers and pesticides must be subsidised, The government should encourage growers in improving yields per unit area, and some relief be given to millers in excise duty besides placing some funds from the cess duty at the disposal of millers to start research and development of sugar crops. To achieve this objective, there must be productive zones for each sugar mill. By productive zone I mean, millers should have contract growers who will be ready to strictly follow the variety and production package recommended by the mill. Millers should help these growers in seed cane availability, fertilizers and pesticides on loan basis as some millers are already doing it in Sindh and Punjab on a very small scale. Moreover, growers and millers should be bound by law to honour their contract.

The sugar industry should have large research and demonstration farms, where new improved varieties be developed. These farms should be run by qualified crops experts to ensure sustainable growth and ensure improvement in yields of quality canes.

In addition to sugar, millers should think of other value-added products from sugarcane. Our sugar industry has the potential for greater contribution to national exports and savings in foreign exchange spendings on petroleum imports. In Brazil, 95 per cent vehicles are now fuelled by “ethanol” produced from sugarcane where petrol (gasoline) used is ‘gasohol’ containing 22 per cent ethanol. According to a news report, Pakistan spent a sizable amount of $1.5 billion on the import of petroleum during 1998-99 and during 1999-2000 this spending was to the tune of $ 2.5 billion. Brazil’s efforts saved the country 47 million barrels equivalent petrol equal to a foreign exchange of $ 1. 7 billion during 1984-85. The alcohol is chiefly used as a substitute for petrol in alcohol powered vehicles, and as an additive to petrol to improve its performance.

Because the addition of 20 per cent alcohol to Brazil’s low octane petrol gives a 59 per cent increase in efficiency and for every litre of alcohol added there is a saving of 1.26 liters of petrol. Nevertheless, the current and probable export price of sugar on the world market is such that production of alcohol is likely to provide an alternative either to reduce oil imports or as an export alternative. As a fuel extender in South Africa, production of ethanol from sugarcane has saved sugar from unprofitable exports, and it has a number of advantages for cane sugar industry, especially in providing new jobs in rural areas. The production of 10.7 billion liters of alcohol has resulted in extra employment of 760000 people. At this stage of our economic crises, these suggestions aught not be dismissed as ‘a seven-day wonder’. [The writer is a sugarcane breeder and is associated with the NWFP Agriculture University, Peshawar.]