HYDERABAD: Sugar cane growers on Sunday said that their protest on Saturday (Dec 23) would be held as per the plan and they would hold no negotiations with the government over the issue of cane price unless it assured them that the talks would be meaningful. The sugar cane growers’ joint action committee had earlier announced a “big protest” on Dec 23 against government’s failure to implement its notification fixing the minimum cane procurement price at Rs182/40kg. Most sugar mills have refused to buy cane at the official price or they are offering a much lower price in violation of the notification.

“We will not agree with government for talks unless it agrees to go for implementation of the notification,” said Mahmood Nawaz Shah, the vice president of Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB). “It’s a decision taken by the action committee today,” he added.

The meeting was held in the office of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA). It was attended by SCA leaders Kabool Kathian, Nabi Bux Sathio and Zahid Bhurgari; and Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI) president Nawab Zubair Talpur, besides Nawaz Shah.

The committee leaders vowed to hold the Dec 23 protest sit-in at Hatri bypass, pointing out that millers were offering as low as Rs130/40kg to growers which was unacceptable.

Mr Kathian told journalists at the briefing that the sit-in would continue until the notification was implemented.

The growers’ leaders had called on Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in Karachi on Friday on latter’s invitation to sort out the cane price issue. The meeting remained inconclusive as, according to Nawaz Shah and Zahid Bhurgari, the CM sought two days’ time to come up with a proposal to bring an end to the impasse.

Ruling out any compromise on the fixed rate, Mr Khatian said that in fact, growers of small- and medium-size landholdings were suffering badly now as half of December had already passed off.

He observed that present situation had so far benefited sugar mills’ owners in all respects. “Millers have been given subsidy both by the federal and provincial governments at the rate of Rs10.70/kg and Rs9.30/kg, respectively, while belated crushing season was going to benefit them again because they would certainly be making more sucrose recovery than what they achieved in mid-November.

Mr Sathio said that Sindh government had not shown any seriousness in implementation of its own notification. “Through the Dec 15 meeting, the government tried to engage us so that we should postpone our Dec 23 sit-in,” he said.

Mr Bhurgari said that when the government had already notified the rate, there was no reason left for millers to deny the rate.

During the Sunday meeting, Nawaz Shah said“Millers tell us that they are producing sugar at the ex-mill rate of Rs45 to Rs47 per kg; therefore, they will pay only Rs130 to Rs140 per 40kg to growers for their produce,” said a Sindh government source.

Nawab Zubair Talpur told reporters that the provincial government was protecting millers’ interests at the cost of farmers’. He said the government didn’t have the right to rule over the province if it was unable to enforce its writ.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2017