HYDERABAD: The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) has asked the government to ensure start of cane crushing by November as it has allowed subsidised export of 500,000 tonnes of the commodity to sugar millers costing the national exchequer around Rs5.35 billion.

At a press conference, SCA General Secretary Nabi Bux Sathio and members Zahid Bhurgari and Ejaz Nabi Shah said now the millers should have no excuse to delay the crushing or paying less price to cane growers.

For the last six years, the government was fixing cane rate at Rs182 per 40kg, but it must increase it to Rs220 per 40kg for 2017-18 season, they demanded.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2017