KARACHI: Provincial Agriculture Minister Syed Ali Nawaz Shah has said that 18 sugar mills in Sindh have started crushing while another nine have fired up their boilers and will start crushing soon.

The minister said that with the exception of few mills like Mehran, Matiari, Ghotki Sugar Mills, the other sugar mills are not getting proper sugarcane supply as a result of which crushing is getting affected.

He said that sugar mills need at least 30,000 maunds of sugarcane for crushing daily while they are being supplied only 10-15 thousand maunds and because of this low supply, the crushing process is getting affected.

The provincial agriculture minister urged the growers to supply sugarcane to mills for crushing and cooperate with them so that relief could be provided to common man as the earliest.

He said that as a result of measures taken by Sindh Government some 1,300 tons of sugar is being supplied to the market at Rs36 per kg since November 13 and retailers would sell it at Rs40 per kg.

Nawaz Ali Shah said the provincial government is thankful to the Sindh High Court for 2,200 tons of sugar that was provided to the Agriculture Department on its order and arrangements are being made for its sale in Jumma and other bachat (savings) bazaars and retail shops at Rs40 per kg.—APP