PESHAWAR, Nov 25: Cane growers and their associates in the trade have warned the government that they would launch a protest campaign if it did not lift its ban on the movement of gur (raw sugar) to the turbulent Federally.

Administered Tribal Areas.

Kissan Board president Murad Ali Khan and Gur Commission Agents president Haji Mulla Mohammad Shah told a press conference here on Thursday that the ban amounted to economic strangulation of the farmers and the traders marketing their product.

They reminded the men behind the ban that majority of the people in tribal areas cannot afford refined sugar and consume gur for its cheap price. “But the owners of sugar mills want to capture this market at all costs,” they said.

They charged that such ill-thought decisions of the government were adding to the miseries of flood-hit farmers.

“No government has put ban on movement of kitchen items but those claiming to be champions of human rights are taking decisions against the basic human rights,” they said.

They added that government fixed price of sugarcane at Rs125 per 40 kilograms but the owners of sugar mills were forcing farmers to sell the same to them at Rs300. The step was aimed at brining an end to the gur production, they said.

“There are about 6,000 gur producing small units only in Charsadda district wherein thousands of families are earning livelihood. If the sugar millers don't stop their practices against gur production these people will be left jobless,” they said.

The farmers also expressed concern over the soaring prices of fertilisers and said that both sugar and fertilisers were being smuggled to Afghanistan.

“Sugar and fertiliser are available at cheaper rates in Afghanistan but these commodities in our own country are sold at exorbitant rates,” they said. They alleged that influential people were becoming millionaires and billionaires through such illegal practices in connivance with the government.

They criticised both the provincial and federal governments for what they called giving free hand to the owners of sugar mills to fleece consumers by creating artificial shortage of the commodity.

“Pakistan is basically an agricultural country but the government is least bothered to promote agriculture rather it is creating problems for the poor farmers,” they said.

They said production of tobacco was also not satisfactory this year due to heavy rains and floods. The farmers were facing the worst kind of financial problems in different districts, they added.

They demanded of the government to give incentives to gur producers otherwise they would be forced to start protest movement from Nov 29.

They also opposed the proposed Reformed General Sales Tax.