PSMA seeks protection of sugar mills' assets

Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Sindh zone on Thursday expressed deep dismay on derailment of Sindh sugar industry, resulting in undue difficulties for genuine sugarcane farmers as their crop was being affected.
"The situation is also confronting consumers due to short supply, resultantly, increasing the sugar prices," a PSMA statement said, adding, "had normal tendency prevailed and sustained for sugarcane crushing of 2005-06 season, sugar would have arrived in the market four weeks earlier.".
According to the statement of the PSMA Sindh zone, sugar mills of Sindh in a meeting on Thursday held that due to increase in minimum sugarcane price by the provincial government through a notification from Rs 48 per 40 kgs to Rs 60 per 40 kgs, they had no option but to suspend sugarcane crushing.
The meeting urged the federal and Sindh government authorities to review the situation to withdraw the second notification having created stir in sugar sector.
"The said notification has prompted the so-called representatives of farmers to capitalise on it by creating disorderly and inflammatory situation in the rural sector as is evidenced by repetitive threatening publicly to take-over sugar mills and inflict other collateral damages," the PSMA said.
The Association has sent an SOS to the highest offices of the federal and provincial governments seeking protection of sugar mills assets, security to its manpower and providing for conducive conditions for peaceful and profitable economic functioning of sugar mills of Sindh, which is a fundamental right of the people to do business.
The meeting cautioned that 'any untoward act affecting law and order and its consequences may beam negative signals and adversely impact consistent efforts being persistently made by the present government to promote investments in the economy, particularly in its manufacturing sector.'
The federal and provincial governments have been approached to defuse the situation from deteriorating further, enabling sugar mills to have normal working in conducive conditions with equitable scope of making reasonable earnings on their investments, the statement added.