HYDERABAD: The Sindh agriculture department issued on Wednesday notifications, fixing minimum price of sugar cane at Rs182 per 40kg for 2016-17 season and the date for the commencement of crushing season in the light of an agreement reached between sugar factory owners and growers at a meeting of the Sugarcane Control Board in Karachi on Oct 7.

The department notified the price and fixed Nov 15 for commencement of sugar cane crushing season 2016-17 and payment of quality premium, a matter which has, how­ever, been sub judice in apex court since 2007.

Of the 38 sugar mills in the province, 34 will start crushing as per scheduled date of Nov 15. The remaining four mills, which had not crushed cane last year as well, has remained shut for a variety of reasons. The growers had challenged in the Sindh High Court the cane price notification for 2015-16 on Jan 4, 2016, which had fixed the price at Rs172 per 40kg.

The Hyderabad circuit bench of the SHC will hear the growers’ petitions filed by Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) and Sindh Abadgar Ittehad on Nov 3.

According to the new notification, the rate of quality premium has been fixed at 50 paisa per 40kg sugar cane over each 0.1 per cent (including fraction thereof to be calculated prorate) of excess sucrose recovery above 8.7 per cent determined on the basis of overall sucrose recovery basis of each mill.

The notification, however, clarified that as the matter was pending a decision in the Supreme Court and as per decisions of the federal government the payment of quality premium would remain suspended till the court decision arrived or a consensus was reached among all stakeholders.

A recently held meeting between the stakeholders held under the directives of apex court failed to reach a consensus agreement on payment of quality premium, which had remained suspended for a long time.

The sugar millers were required to pay quality premium at the fixed rate when the recovery of sucrose crossed the benchmark of 8.7pc.

Sindh’s benchmark for sucrose recovery in sugarcane is 8.7 against 8.5 per cent of Punjab’s and that is why official price of sugar cane in Sindh is always a few rupees more than that of Punjab.

The Punjab government has not yet issued cane price notification.

For 2016-17 crushing season, sugar millers are likely to light up their boilers at least a week before the date of commencement and usually only a handful of sugar mills ignite the boilers on time every year despite the issuance of notification by the provincial government.

In Oct 7 meeting, SAB and SCA leaders had pressed the government to issue a price between Rs190 to Rs200 per 40kg but the government hinted that sugar millers would not agree to it. Then they lowered the demand to Rs190 per 40kg but the government insisted on Rs182 per 40kg price and issued the notification accordingly.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2016