Kissan Board NWFP Monday asked the owners of sugar mills of the province to start crushing of sugarcane within a week, otherwise the growers would launch a protest drive against the inordinate delay in start of crushing season.
" The delay in crushing season is not only causing huge losses to the growers but it will also put negative impact on wheat production in the province," said Murad Ali Khan, president Kissan Board NWFP while addressing a press conference at Peshawar Press Club (PPC).
He said that they were still waiting for cultivation of wheat on the vacant farms. The growing lawlessness in restive districts of Swat, Kohistan, tribal areas and other settled areas of the province had badly damaged the production of Gur, saying the FATA was the big market of the commodity, which was closed due to the uncertain situation.
He said that sugar miller were exploiting the situation in their favour and had delayed the crushing season to compel the growers to sell their product on thrown away prices. The sugar millers, Murak Ali Khan said, last year requested the growers to sell their commodity on almost double price of that fixed by the government. But, this year after realising the situation the millers delayed the crushing season.
He criticised Cane Commissioner NWFP for his failure to fix prices of sugarcane for the current year, which provide opportunity to the millers to exploit of the growers.
Vice President, Arbab Jamil, demanded of the government to include Gur in export list of Pakistan to protect the growers of the exploitation at the hands of the sugar millers in the province. "We would produce Gur from our crop and would not wait for the crushing season," he vowed urging the government for exploration of new international markets for the Gur in the world.
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