The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA), Punjab Zone president Muhammad Ashfaque here on Friday said that sugar and sugarcane prices issue could be overcome by linking the system of sugarcane and sugar on the pattern on which the rest of the world is doing, ie, vertical expansion in the sugarcane research facilities.
In a meeting between sugarcane growers and PSMA leaders, the farmers were apprised that if Australia could achieve the level of 2000 maunds per acre sugarcane why Pakistan was lagging behind by producing around 300 -400 maunds yield per acre, on national level.
According to the PSMA spokesman, increase in sugarcane prices directly affects sugar prices and if per acre yield of sugarcane was increased then the farmers would be able to get more benefit out of their production instead of concentrating on the sugarcane prices, which would then be able to bring a control on the sugar prices.
He said there was urgent need of vertical expansion in per acre yield rather than horizontal increase because if the prices of sugarcane increase, uptrend in sugar prices would be inevitable. "Both these issues can be tackled with the increase in research, technology and yield of sugarcane," he added.
He said that linkage of sugarcane prices with recovery was also discussed in the meeting and both sides agreed and appealed to Punjab Chief Minister that prices of sugarcane should be linked with recovery, and he should take revolutionary steps to take forward research and development of sugarcane for increase in per acre yield and sugar content in sugarcane, by activating the created Development Companies of Sugarcane.