March 5, 2003	Wednesday	Muharram 1, 1424

ISLAMABAD, March 4: The government has given approval for the export of surplus stocks of 0.1 million tons sugar to provide relief to the mill owners so that they could give support price to sugarcane growers.

Replying to a question raised by Syed Qurban Ali Shah about miseries of sugarcane growers in Sindh at the National Assembly session on Tuesday, the minister said the government had formed a committee comprising officials of provincial government and mill owners to deal with issue. “As the fourth session of National Assembly concludes, I will be in Sindh to resolve the issue,” he said.

The questioner said as a result of surplus production of sugar, the mill owners were unable to provide support price of sugarcane to the growers.

He said the Federal Finance Minister, Shaukat Aziz had assured the mill owners that the government will purchase 300,000 tons of sugar from the mills, but the government backed out.

The minister for industries and production said Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali and federal cabinet had granted approval for exporting 0.1 million tons sugar, aimed at facilitating the sugarcane growers.

The government, he said, was well aware of the sugarcane growers’ problems and necessary steps were being taken to overcome them.

Syed Qurban Ali said due to excess production, the growers were not being given good price of their crops.

“It was decided in the meeting that Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) would purchase the excess stock and export it,” he added.

The questioner said 81 per cent people in Sindh were living below poverty line and the sugar crises will further enhance the menace of poverty in the province.

In a supplementary question raised by MNA Sardar Muhammad Tufail, the Minister for Industries and Production was asked to resolve the same problem being faced by the growers of Punjab Province.