HYDERABAD: Sugar mills of lower Sindh appeared not ready to pay the notified sugar cane rate of Rs182 per 40kg although most of them have procured the cane crop and started crushing.

Barring a few mills — one in Badin and two in Thatta — all sugar mills have commenced crushing after the Sindh government notified the new rate on Dec 5.

The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has expressed its disagreement and brought its reservations on record over the newly fixed rate on the ground that they had a substantial quantity of surplus sugar stocks which had to be exported with a subsidy.

According to Mahmood Nawaz Shah, vice president of the Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), lower Sindh’s sugar factories have verbally told sugar cane producers that they would be paying Rs130-140 per 40kg instead of the notified rate and that’s why they were not issuing CPR (cane price receipt).

Under the CPR, each sugar factory mentions the weight and rate of sugar cane bought as well as the date when it was supplied to the sugar mill concerned.

Sindh has 38 sugar mills in all. It is learn that sugar factories in Ghotki are offering Rs182/40kg notified rate to growers. Out of four mills in Ghotki, two are owned by a politician belonging to an opposition party.

“Sugar millers are in fact violating the fresh notification,” he said, and added that sugar cane producers couldn’t withhold their crop now.

“Half of December has already passed and sugar cane crop is standing on around 320,000ha in Sindh. Growers have to harvest it anyhow under present conditions. They have already lost an ideal and recommended time of sowing the wheat crop next,” Shah said.

There is every possibility that sugar millers may question the sugar cane price notification in the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit bench, which is already seized of the matter.

Members of Sindh Agriculture Research Council (SARC) led by Advocate Ali Palh had earlier filed a constitutional petition in the SHC Hyderabad circuit, seeking issuance of sugar cane price notification.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) senior vice president Nabi Bux Sathio said that millers were not mentioning the offered rate of sugar cane on the CPR to avoid any complication. “We are not being provided the accounts summary as well,” he said. Interestingly, he said, Ghotki-based sugar mills were offering Rs182/40kg to growers. “Are Ghotki’s mill owners incurring losses or paying additionally from their own pocket?” he argued.

Sindh government has already come up with a belated price notification on Dec 5 considering the fact that the Sugar Factories Control Act 1950, which was amended in 2009, calls for commencement of crushing by a factory owner in Sindh not later than Nov 30.

The mills in Sindh have, however, started cane crushing in the second week of December.

PSMA Sindh zone was not ready to start cane crushing unless millers are given subsidy on the export of the sweetener by the federal government to enable them to clear their surplus sugar stocks.

The federal government in its recent decision attached some conditions to grant a subsidy. One of the conditions was that cane crushing must start by Nov 30 and continue thereafter.

The timely payment of procured sugar cane crop is also mandatory upon millers. But, this is not the case at least in Sindh.

Surplus sugar in Sindh in the wake of 2016-17 season was largely due to procurement of sugar cane by mills from Punjab as well. The millers claim that Sindh produces a big crop that is sufficient to meet the crushing needs of sugar mills of this province.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) president Kab­ool Mohammad Khatiyan and general secretary Zahid Bhurgari in a joint statement have condemned baton charge of protesting sugar cane growers by Karachi police on Monday.

They said that millers were committing injustices against growers by offering them Rs130-140 instead of the notified price.

Awami Tehreek president Dr Rasool Bux Khaskheli also condemned the police action and said that holding protest was a democratic right of everyone.

He said that the government adopted a dictatorial path by using force against peaceful protesters.

Growers in several cities and towns, including Badin, Mithi and Mirpurkhas held demonstrations to condemn the police action.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2017