Kisan Board Pakistan (KBP) has strongly opposed the sugar millers proposal of reducing sugarcane support price in Punjab and warned of staging a protest to block any such decision. KBP Central President, Sardar Zafar Hussain Advocate in a statement here on Tuesday alleged that the government had left farmers at the mercy of sugar mill mafia.
He claimed that sugarcane was being purchased at Rs 50 per maund along with cut up to 25 per cent besides stoppage of payments, which had created disappointment amongst the farmers.
He said that recent cold wave had badly damaged the sugarcane crop and now sugar millers were pressurising the government to reduce sugarcane support price by Rs 9 per maund. While on the other hand, they were forcing the government to buy 500,000 tons of sugar at the rate of 29.30 per kilogram. He claimed that it would deprive the government of Rs two billion.
Why all the incentives are being extended to the millers only, he questioned. The small farmers were facing losses and reduction in support price would provide benefit of billions of rupees to the sugar mills owners. He warned that if sugarcane support price was reduced, KBP would besiege sugar mills and stage demonstrations on roads.