KARACHI, Aug 7: Sugarcane production may drop by 40 per cent this year compared to last year owing to less area brought under cultivation, shortage of water and urea, and change in crop pattern.

The area under crop this year has been estimated at 2,65,138 hectares as against 3,08,806 hectares cultivated last year.

Sources said that the main factor for low crop area is lack of good price given to growers by mills during 2007-08 season as well as non-payment of large cane dues by mills even after a lapse of three months from the harvest.

Many growers shifted their crop to cotton and paddy in view of rising prices of commodities in domestic and world markets.

Presently, growers owe Rs2.5 billion cane dues to mills, which paid less than the minimum cane price fixed by the government during 2007-08 season ended in April this year.

The minimum price was fixed at Rs67 per maund, but the mills paid only Rs60.

When the price was reduced to Rs63 at the end of the crushing season, the mills paid only Rs57 for a maund of sugarcane.

The government has filed criminal cases against mill owners in district courts to persuade them to make payment to growers.

However, it is not pursuing these cases until Aug 15, which is the last date given to mills for payment. Action will be taken against defaulting mills after this date.

Sindh Cane Commissioner Nazeer Hasan Jamali told Dawn from Hyderabad that many mills had shown interest in payment of dues by the due date. Some of them, which had not issued cane receipt statements, have submitted accounts to the commissioner.

He expressed the hope that the minimum cane procurement price for the current season would be announced before Sept 15. This year price is likely to cross Rs70 per maund as a national commission has estimated cost of production of one maund of sugarcane in Sindh at Rs70.

Mr Jamali pointed out that the chief minister is yet to announce formation of a new cane control board which would announce the minimum procurement price.

Under the Sindh Sugar Factories Control Act, the board must be formed before the new harvest, but unfortunately the board had not been formed since 2003 and the existing board had been fixing minimum cane purchase price over the years in sheer violation of the act.

The cane commissioner has written to the agriculture secretary to request the chief minister to announce formation of the board which has representatives from growers, mills and directors of agriculture, industry and labour. It is headed by the cane commissioner.