The government has moved in by convening a meeting of all sugar sector stakeholders for Thursday to sort out controversy between the growers and sugar mill owners-particularly in Sindh-over sugarcane price issue. The growers and mill owners have entered into bitter controversy over the sugarcane prices and none of the two sides is ready to give any concession. This has created crisis-like situation in Sindh where the growers have halted supply of sugarcane to mills.
The ministers for Commerce, Industries and Production and Food, who are also members of the inter-ministerial committee on sugar, would attend the meeting. The representatives of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), growers, Sindh Abadgarh Board and senior federal and provincial officials would also attend the meeting.
In Sindh, the growers are demanding Rs 47 rate for 40 kg sugarcane, which the mill-owners say is not acceptable to them. They argue that the growers demand is not workable since it can push up sugar production cost and make the industry incompetative in the open market.
Non-supply of sugarcane to the mill would have serious implications. It would halt the crushing and hence reduce chances of lifting of sugarcane and availability of land for wheat sowing. Again, delay in wheat sowing would mean less production of the crop and increase dependency on import of wheat for the next season. This would not be an easy solution to the government which has already placed order for import of 1.5 million tons of wheat to meet the demand in the coming months.
Sources told Business Recorder on Wednesday that the meeting would take stock of the situation arising out of non-supply of sugarcane to Sindh-based sugar mills.
PSMA secretary general K.A.Qazalbash is unhappy over the situation. He holds Sugarcane Act 1950 responsible of what he said "ugly situation" confronted by the sugar sector stakeholders for the last over five decades.
He said: "The PSMA feels that the controversy on sugarcane prices will remain unresolved so long as the outdated Sugarcane Act 1950 remains in practice".
Qazalbash said that the PSMA would reiterate its stance before the committee that the Sugar Act 1950 was no more in practice and any action under it would be unlawful and illogical.
He said: "We had contested implementation of the Sugar Act many times before the official bodies in the meetings held time to time and the PSMA would repeat the same stance in Thursday's meeting".
According to sources, the meeting will also review sugar stock situation and prospects of the new season and demand for the next one sugar year.