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BADIN, Dec 2: The delay in resuming crushing by the sugar mills has forced the small growers to sell their produce to the middlemen at a loss of about Rs2 per maund.
The growers have already been sustaining a loss of Rs2 to Rs3 per 50kg on their produce in most of the areas of Badin district as the official minimum price of sugar cane has been fixed at Rs41 per 40kg but the middlemen are giving them advance at the rate of Rs38 to Rs39 per 40kg of sugar cane.
The growers accused the management of the sugar mills of using tactics by introducing middlemen in the business.
They said had they started crushing season on time, the small growers could have been saved from falling into the trap of middlemen.
They said that the sale of produce to middlemen also deprives the small growers of quality premium, which also brings a reasonable amount of money.
Out of six sugar mills in the district, only four have started crushing.
PSMA: The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has recommended that the sugar mills should be banned from purchasing sugar cane outside their respective zone and the zone areas should be appropriately demarcated as before de-zoning in consonance with the production capacity of the respective mills.
It was learnt by this correspondent from the mill management’s sources on Monday.
They said that the recommendations included not allowing the mills to purchase sugar cane outside the mill’s zone at the initial stage and advising farmers not to sell their produce outside the respective zone. The decision is said to have been taken so as to keep the mills from competition in their own interests.
