LAHORE: Sugar millers on Wednesday demanded of the government to devise a policy within 48 hours for the export of three million tonnes of surplus sugar worth Rs190 billion.

Addressing a press conference, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Chairman Mr Javed Kayani said if the government failed to resolve the issue immediately, the industry would not be able to begin the crushing season from Nov 30.

“The government is pushing us to start the crushing by purchasing sugarcane from farmers. It is also pressing us to also clear farmers’ payments within 15 days besides creating an impression that the millers are not starting the season intentionally. But it is a wrong impression. We are ready to do this once the government immediately allows us to export 3m tonnes of surplus sugar that we are expecting this year,” Mr Kayani said.

“Four mills are observing shutdowns while another nine mills are faced with bankruptcy,” he added.

“We want the government to allow us to export the surplus stock, enabling us to clear growers’ payments,” he said.

He added that during a meeting on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had assured the industry to resolve this issue, but to no avail.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2017