Various growers' organisations sharply reacting to the increase in the prices of the petroleum products have said it will not only increase the cost of production but also the prices of agri-commodities for the common people.
Chairman Agri Forum Pakistan Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal while talking to Business Recorder here on Monday said that farmers use 3.25 billion litres annually to run 800,000 tube wells and 7,50,000 tractors for farming in their effort to make the country self-reliant in food sector.
He said that this was very crucial time for three main crops including sugar cane, sunflower and maize. He said that these crops were in sowing phase and increase in high speed diesel oil would affect their sowing. He said that higher prices would affect the sugarcane, which means consumers would have more expensive sugar last year, affected sunflower crop mean increase in the prices of edible oil and any adverse impact on wheat would result in surge in the prices of flour.
Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal claimed that the recent increase in the diesel prices would put an additional burden of Rs 11 billion on the farmers' community. He also questioned that the government had increase petroleum prices immediately after increase in the international prices. But the DAP fertilisers had registered a decline of US 50 dollar per ton in the international market but its benefit had not passed on to the farmers.
He said with this decline the DAP bag should be available in Pakistan at Rs 2300 per bag. Chairman Basmati Growers Association (BGA) Chaudhry Hamid Malhi reacting on the increase said that at this crucial time when wheat and other crops were in sowing stage and need irrigation, they did not have water in canals or in dams. Farmers had to rely on tubewells for watering their crops so they need diesel and its higher prices mean higher input cost.
He said that the government on one hand declare agriculture as base of national economy and on the other hand do not hesitate enhancing financial burden on it, thus making the farming a non-beneficial business. Pakistan Muttahida Kisan Mahaz (PMKM) also condemned the sharp increase in the petroleum prices especially the diesel used for the farming.
He said those tractors, tube wells, thresher and all the transportation by the growers was done on vehicles used diesel, so increase in the diesel prices mean higher in put cost. He said that the farmers were demanding subsidy in the prices of diesel used for agricultural prices but instead the government had increased its prices again. He termed it a deliberate act on the part of the rulers to destroy the agriculture.