What a travesty of events? While sugar prices in the open market have rocketed appallingly high, The Pakistan Society of Sugar Technologists (PSST) are celebrating its golden jubilee, which will continue for three days ie September 5 to 7. The timings of celebrations have reduced the importance of the event.
The government had announced that in order to alleviate the sufferings of consumers, utility stores throughout the country would sell sugar at the rate of Rs 23 per kilogram, but the situation on the ground tells a different story.
The price is right but the commodity is terribly in the short supply. The utility stores provide five-kilogram bags in limited quantity, which are sold out immediately. By afternoon, there are no traces of sugar found.
Even at Sunday bazaars, where an outlet is put up, one is confronted with the answer of 'sold out'. The utility stores provide no plausible explanation to this quagmire and can not be exonerated of the shortcomings.
In a city of about 10.5 million souls, there are only 42 outlets. Instead of increasing the number of these outlets, their number has been reduced from the previous 80 to 42. Short supply of sugar coupled with limited number of outlets force people to buy the items of daily use besides sugar from the open market.
The "Utility" of the "Utility Stores" is thus reduced to nil and leaves the official claims of providing cheaper items of daily use badly bruised and dented. People are forced to buy sugar from the open market where it is sold between Rs 28 to Rs 30 per kilogram.
Talking about sugar, it is well known that the industry is in despair for quite sometime, the worst was seen during the recently concluded sugar-cane crushing season 2004-05. More gloomy projections appear to be in store for the ensuing 2005-06 season to begin in about a month's time.
While the sugar industry had been cursed and cajoled by the top government functionaries and mill-owners blasted time and again over the high sugar prices, literally crushing consumers, "servants of the sugar industry" in the PSST were trying to shower bouquets on the industry, commented a mill-owner.
A close look at the programme chalked out for the PSST bonanza reflects that out of 12 sessions only four are devoted to technology aspects and eight sessions to other matters. This showed only the non-seriousness of the technologists in grappling with the real issues faced by the sugar industry, he said.
Members of the Society, some accompanied with their families have landed in Karachi from rural locations of mills for grand get-together and recreation than serious professional pursuits. Karachi has been selected for the celebrations while Sindh sugar industry is in deep distress.
Sugar production in the Sindh faltered to 750,000 tons in 2004-05, a steep fall from 1.221 million tons of the previous 2003-04 season. It was the lowest ever sugar output rolled out by as many as 28 sugar mills functional in Sindh. Worst is in store next season, according to experts forecast.
They say that not just the Sindh, but the entire industry of Pakistan has been passing through extreme rigours and difficulties as could be seen from domestic sugar production during 2004-05, which diminished by one million tons. It dropped to 2.922 million tons in 2004-05 from 3.997 million tons of the preceding 2003-04 season.
Persons associated with sugar industry looking at the plethora of problems being faced, particularly economic plight, due to serious setback suffered for a long time, see no reason to hold ceremonies on wider scale at this point of time.
Desperate calls for reduction not getting through, the government of Pakistan had to face problem of the rise in sugar prices. It had to spend on imports of raw and refined sugar in volume more than 500,000 tons at high cost factor, mill owners said.
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