KARACHI, Sept 21: The federal government will soon announce a relief package for sugarcane growers so that their dues can be cleared before the crushing season.

This was said by Sindh Food and Agriculture Minister Arif Jatoi while speaking at a meeting of the Sindh Assembly House Committee, set up to consider a motion regarding nonpayment of dues to growers by sugar mills, held here on Saturday.

He said he was working with the centre on the package.

He said Rs1 billion was outstanding against sugar mills as they had paid Rs40 per kilograms of sugarcane to growers against the government fixed rate of Rs43.

It was decided that defaulting sugar mill owners, growers and representatives of the growers associations and the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, Sindh, would be invited to the next meeting of the committee scheduled for Sept 30. The meeting would discuss starting of the crushing season and fixing of sugarcane price.—PPI