HYDERABAD: The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) has urged the Sindh government to notify immediate start of the sugar cane crushing season and fix the minimum support price for the 2026-27 crop in line with the Sugar Factories Control Act.

Speaking at a news conference in the local press club, SAB President Syed Mahmood Nawaz Shah, Dr Zulfikar Yousfani and Syed Nadeem Shah said that the crop was ready to harvest and the government was under obligation, as per the Act, to notify start of the crushing season and fix the support price at this point of time.

They stressed that sugar mills should start cane crushing between Nov 15 and 20. They noted that in the last two years, neither the crushing season nor the crop rate was notified. The agriculture sector remained in a crisis in these years as the numbers available on record show. Productivity was hit and the offered rates of certain crops remained inadequate, they recalled.

They said that during a recently held meeting of the Sugarcane Control Board, SAB had proposed fixing of fresh crop’s rate at Rs647 per 40kg considering the high cost of production. Farmers at the meeting were assured that their proposal would be considered by the Sindh cabinet, but it did not take a decision, they noted.

The leaders stated that the Act, in fact, creates a balance in the industry and regretted that neither sugar cane rate has been notified nor has the crushing season been announced as yet. They termed it a flagrant violation of the Act. They said that even if the notification for commencement of crushing was issued now, the sugar mills would start cane crushing before Nov 30, as per the relevant provision of this Act.

They said that unrest was prevailing among farmers because of government’s indifference in this regard. They pointed out that the cost of production had increased substantially which was reflective from the fact that a urea bag that used to be available at Rs1,700 five years ago is selling for Rs5,000 and the rate of a DAP bag has risen to Rs18,000 against Rs2,400 five years ago. Urea is largely used for input and the requirement is roughly 700,000 tonnes.

They said that the country has about 75 sugar mills which are owned by some 50 industrialists. “Sugar cane crop worth Rs1,300bn is available in the field for harvesting,” they told the meeting.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2026