KARACHI, Nov 1: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has sought the federal government’s intervention to end the prolonged crisis in sugar industry of Sindh.

FPCCI president Riaz Ahmed Tata in a statement said that the Sindh sugar industry had been passing through a critical liquidity and financial crisis, eroding its resource base, due to the extremely unfavourable sugarcane support price policy being pursued by the Sindh government since 2001-02 season.

He said that due to this unfavourable policy, the sugar industry in the province had suffered a huge loss of Rs3.44 billion and Rs2.542 billion in 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons respectively.

He regretted that instead of caring for the health of the industry, the Sindh cabinet in its meeting held on Oct 29 again fixed sugarcane support price at Rs43 per 40-kg and November 1 as the commencement of the crushing season for 2003-04.

Tata said that the federal government had advised the fixing of sugarcane support price at Rs42 per 40-kg in Sindh and Rs41 per 40-kg in Punjab for 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons but the Sindh government fixed it at Rs43 and the Punjab government at Rs40 per 40-kg.