PESHAWAR: Growers call for increase in sugarcane price
Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, Nov 12: The NWFP chapter of the Kissan Board Pakistan has called upon the government to increase the price of sugarcane. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, board president Murad Ali Khan said that the new rate should be linked with the cost of production which was almost Rs100 per 40 kilogram.
He said that the Sindh and Punjab governments had fixed new prices of sugarcane at Rs67 and Rs65 per 40 kilogram, respectively.
Mr Khan said that the federal government had authorised provincial governments to fix prices for sugarcane. The sugarcane commissioner, he added, had held two meetings of growers and mill-owners in Peshawar last month but failed to agree on the new prices.
He said that last year mill-owners had purchased sugarcane from local growers at Rs110 per 40 kilogram, but now they were reluctant to pay even Rs67 for per 40 kilogram.
Mr Khan regretted that mill-owners had not started crushing season thus affecting the sowing of wheat crops. He said if owners would further delay the crushing season, it would drastically affect wheat crops.
Mr Khan threatened that if mill-owners failed to start crushing of sugarcane within next three days, then growers and farmers would besiege the Khazana Sugar Mill, Peshawar.
Expressing concern over the lawlessness in several districts of the NWFP and tribal areas, the board president said that prevailing situation had badly affected their business of brown sugar because markets and routes were closed in Malakand and tribal regions owing to law and order situation.
He urged the federal government to include brown sugar in export list and find new markets in the region for the product.
Mr Khan criticised sugar mill owners for suggesting to levy tax on the production of brown sugar.
The board urged the government to set up consumer courts in the province to address problem of the farming community.
