HYDERABAD, Oct 31: A controversy over sugarcane price has deepened with the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), Sindh chapter, and growers failing to reach any accord.

The Sindh government has fixed the minimum price of sugarcane at Rs48 per 40 kilograms which is not acceptable to sugar mill owners while growers are even demanding more than this price.

Earlier, the Sindh government had issued an impracticable notification that sugar mills should start the crushing season from Oct 1, for which neither sugar mills nor growers were ready as the sugarcane had not matured.

When contacted, Sindh PSMA president Wajid Arain told Dawn by telephone from Karachi that boilers would be lighted after Eid and the crushing of sugarcane would start between Nov 15 and Nov 20.

About the notification of price, he gave an evasive reply and added that sugar mills of Sindh were ready to pay one rupee more per 40kgs than the price fixed by the Punjab government.

He said the Sindh chapter of the PSMA would request for a meeting with the chief minister on his return from Umrah to discuss the price issue.

The issue of payment of quality premium is also pending in the apex court as the PSMA has challenged the payment of quality premium.

A meeting of the Sindh PSMA was held in Karachi on Monday to discuss various problems confronting sugar mills but the proceedings of the meeting have not been made public.

So far, only one sugar mill - Seri Sugar Mills – has started sugarcane crushing.

Sindh Abadgar Board president Abdul Majeed Nizamani told Dawn that the argument of the Sindh PSMA that it was prepared to pay one rupee more per 40kgs than the price of sugarcane fixed by the Punjab government did not hold any water. He maintained that there was a world of difference between Punjab and Sindh. He argued that transport charges for sugarcane in Punjab were only 80 paisas per 40kgs and growers supplied their produce at the purchasing centre of the mill. In Sindh, he added, transportation charges were Rs4.50 per 40kgs and the sugarcane was supplied at the gate of the mill.

He further said that while there was ample irrigation water in Punjab, there was acute shortage of water in Sindh. He made it clear that keeping in view the cost of production in Sindh, even this amount was much less than what was spent on producing the crop.

He said if the price was not increased, further reduction in cultivation of sugarcane in Sindh could not be ruled out.

About the payment of quality premium, he said the PSMA was just trying to delay the payment by going to the apex court although there was no justification for approaching the court.

About the start of crushing season, he expressed the hope that it would start by Nov 15.