Growers worried as millers stop sugarcane crushing

Sugar mill owners in Chunian and Kasur areas have stopped crushing in violation of the Punjab Sugarcane Act, which demands 15-day prior announcement of the closure to facilitate farmers.
Taking serious note of this violation the Agri-Forum Pakistan here on Monday said that sugarcane growers in those areas were facing difficulties due to this unlawful act by the millers, resulting in a sharp decline in sugarcane price in the market.
Forum chairman Ibrahim Mughal told APP here later that the body had appealed to the Chief Minister Punjab to ensure implementation on the Sugarcane Act to protect the rights of farmers and the agriculture sector.
He said the forum also demanded payments of the farmers' dues outstanding against the mills. Dues of the current year alone amounts to Rs 2.5 billion, while there was a long list of pending dues from previous years, he added.