The on-going sugar crisis has taken a new and politically more serious turn as under the government's pressure all 43 sugar mills of Punjab have fired up their boilers to start the 2009-2010 cane crushing season from today (Friday) but they do not have the sugarcane to crush.
" We have geared up our mills and hired the labour on daily wages, therefore we now ask Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif to direct his District Co-ordination Officers to provide us sugarcane for crushing in order to increase supply for the reduction of sugar price," one disgusted sugar mill owner told Business Recorder in a very taunting manner here on Thursday.
One sugar industry insider said despite government's anxiety to start the sugarcane crushing season as early as possible to overcome the sugar crisis, the growers were not in a hurry to sell their produce to the miller, specially at the government's support price of Rs 100 per 40 KG.
"The growers know that sugarcane is in short supply and international sugar prices are high, therefore they will sell their produce to the highest bidder, that might rise up to Rs 150 to Rs 180 per 40 Kg making the sweetener more expensive." According to Director General, Agriculture Services Extension Dr Anjum Ali sugarcane had been sown over 1.487 million acres in Punjab as against 1.647 million acres last year. The total sugarcane production this year is 28 million tons, 11 percent less than the last year's production of 32 million tons.
This scribe talked to some prominent sugarcane growers to know their views about supply of sugarcane to the millers who opined that the sugar mills and government officials were minting millions of rupees by selling sugar in the black market, then why the growers should sell their produce at the government rates.
President, Kissan Board Pakistan Sardar Zafar Hussain from Faisalabad said, "the farmers would prefer to make Gurh or raw sugar from sugarcane than sell it to the millers at lower rates as last year sugar mills bought sugarcane at Rs 110 per 40 KG as against the support price of Rs 80 per 40 KG.
President Anjuman-e-Kashtkaran Punjab Major Taqweem (Retd) from Sheikhpura said that most of the farmers have started making Gurh that is selling like a hot cake at Rs 50 to Rs 60 per KG. "The farmers will wait till next month before they take their produce to the mills"
A prominent grower of Sargodha Malik Faqir Muhammad Awan said he was already making and selling Gurh. "I will like know offer of the sugar mills before I make up my mind whether to sell it to the mills and make Gurh and raw sugar (Shakar)," he added. Sugar industry sources feared that the sugarcane crushing was not likely to start effectively this month for the sugar growers were not in a mood to bring their produce to the mills before Eid-ul-Azha, thus they would have to make payment to their labour without any work.
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