HYDERABAD: The Sindh government has decided to fix sugar cane support price at Rs182 per 40 kilogramme for 2016-17 season after a rare understanding reached between sugar factory owners and growers that no side will go into litigation over the question of sugar cane price of upcoming crushing season.

It is perhaps for the first time that rate of sugar cane has been decided in one sitting convened by the Sugarcane Control Board and chaired by Sindh Minister for Agriculture Sohail Anwar Siyal in Karachi.

Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) representatives Abdul Majeed Nizamani and Mehmood Nawaz Shah, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) leaders Zahid Bhurgari and Nabi Bux Sathio, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Sindh zone secretary Qasim Pahore, provincial secretary agriculture Saeed Mangnejo and Sindh Cane Commissioner Agha Zaheer attended the meeting.

Agha Zaheer confirmed that sugar millers would ignite boilers of factories a week before the onset of crushing season which had been fixed, in principle, for Nov 15 and would be notified accordingly.

“The most important thing is that both sides agree not to move high court over question of sugarcane rate for 2016-17 season,” Mr Zaheer told Dawn over phone.

According to the estimates of Sindh agriculture department, an increase of 1.68 per cent in sugarcane growing area has been noted. Sugarcane is grown on 318,060ha (against target 320,000 hactares) in current season of 2016 when compared with 312,815ha of 2015 (against target 320,000ha), say reports.

Sindh government representatives held separate meetings with growers and sugar millers in order to arrive at a consensus over the price. Sugar cane producers had demanded Rs240 per 40kg and then brought it down to Rs190 per 40kg during negotiations.

Although the rate is to be notified at Rs182 per 40kg but growers did press their point for Rs190 per 40kg in view of sugar market conditions when sugar factory owners are seeking permission from federal government for export of the sweetener.

Sugar millers were told that Punjab had fixed price at Rs180 per 40kg so Sindh’s price had to be Rs182 per 40kg given ratio of sucrose recovery in Sindh’s sugarcane but growers were told Rs240 per 40kg was unjust considering availability of subsidy on fertilizer.

The price of Rs182 per 40kg was in fact fixed in 2014-15 season when it led to a serious crisis as millers did not agree to it and Sindh government had to award a multi billion rupee subsidy at the rate of Rs12 per 40kg for growers considering the fact that millers were paying Rs160 per 40kg.

In the last season of 2015-16, the Sindh government had fixed the rate at Rs172 per 40kg of sugar cane which was questioned by SAB and SCA in Sindh High Court. It is still pending trial in court.

SAB leader Mehmood Nawaz Shah said that when sugar cane price was being fixed on lower side then the government must control sugar’s price in market.

He said that when sugar mill owners claimed that sugar price was Rs48 per kilogramme last year and they agreed to Rs172 per 40kg they should have increased the price given the fact that now sugar was being sold at Rs70 per kg.

“For record’s sake I must say that these are growers who will not question this rate before court as this price suits sugar mill owners so question of millers moving court simply doesn’t arise,” he said.

Nabi Bux Sathio and Zahid Bhurgari pointed out that crushing would start on Nov 15 at all cost after lighting up of boilers by all sugar mills. Sathio informed that it had been decided that no deductions would be made on the issue of different sugarcane varieties. He said that millers did not agree to rate more than Rs182 per 40kg.

Official figures show that presently, Sindh has 38 sugar mills and of them 34 had crushed cane in 2015-16 season. During 2014-15 season, sugar millers managed to win a subsidy offered by Sindh government of Rs12 per 40kg to pay a price of 172 per 40kg to growers while millers themselves paid Rs160 per 40kg against notified price of Rs182 per 40kg.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2016