PESHAWAR: Sugarcane growers have set a one week deadline to the millers for payment as per government decision and threatened to stop cultivation of the crop if their demand was not accepted. They said that they could not afford losses anymore and the mills owners should extend cooperation in implementation of agreements.

The growers’ representatives, including Abdur Rehman, Arbab Jamil and Sardar Alam, told mediapersons on Friday that the provincial government had fixed the price of per 40 kilogramme sugarcane at Rs180, but the mills owners were not ready to make payment according to the fixed price.

They said that the millers were frequently increasing the price of sugar and deteriorating its quality to earn more, but they were not ready to give due rights to the farmers. “We will not accept the rate of Rs150 per 40kg sugarcane and would take firm stand on the issue,” they warned.

The farmers demanded of the caretaker government to take notice of the injustice with them.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2018