LAHORE, Oct 20: The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association has decided to start the crushing season around Nov 1 despite an expected loss of Rs5 billion in the form of lesser sugar recovery and Rs750 million loss to the federal government in the form of sales tax.

The PSMA decided to start the crushing season a month earlier than the previously announced date of Nov 30 in view of the federal government assurance that it would not let the ex-mill sugar price fall below Rs20 per kg at its meeting held at its Punjab Zone office here on Wednesday with Chaudhry M Zaka Ashraf in the chair.

The PSMA chairman apprised the participants of the details of the association delegation meeting with the federal government inter-ministerial committee headed by Federal Agriculture Minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan and attended by Federal Industries Minister Jehangir Tareen and Minister of State for Commerce Hamid Yar Hiraj in Islamabad.

He said the association had informed the committee that the Punjab Zone PSMA had decided to delay the crushing season because of the government decision to offload sugar from its buffer stocks creating a destabilizing effect for the industry.

The committee, he said, had admitted the mistake of the government and agreed to put up a summary to the ECC for fixing the minimum price of sugar for all further TCP tenders for disposal of buffer stocks at Rs20 per kg.

He said the inter-ministerial committee had also agreed to join the association in monitoring the sugar price stability at Rs20 per kg ex-mill and sugarcane at Rs40 per 40kg in the market.