Sindh government has asked the sugar millers to start crushing sugarcane from November 1st, it is learnt reliably. Officials in Sindh Agriculture Department told Business Recorder that the department had issued directives to the cane commissioner Sindh to ensure sugar production in all the 32 sugar mills of the province from November 01.
The department also directed the Cane Commissioner to take stern action against the violators, they added. They said the Cane Commissioner Sindh had issued notices to the sugar millers to light-up boilers of their processing units for starting fresh crushing season 2010-11 before deadline. The millers were waiting for maturity of the sugarcane crop for crushing, they said.
Responding to a question regarding delay in cane crushing, they said Sugarcane Factories Act 1950 should be revived due to significant climate change. In 2010, the sugarcane crop could not mature in first week of October due to increase in global warming and climate change during the last 60 years, they argued.
They said there would be increase of 1.5 lac tons of sugar this year due to increase in sugarcane crop cultivation area as compared to the last two years. In 2008-09, sugar production in Sindh stood at 9.5 lac tons, which was increased to 1.1 million tons during crushing season 2009-10. This year sugar production is expected to be 1.25 million tons with an increase of 1.5 lac tons, the officials maintained. They said one sugar mill had already lighted-up its boilers on October 22 to start crushing and two other would start the process from October 29. Matiari Sugar Mills has started operation last week, they added.
Degree Sugar Mills, Tharparkar Sugar Mills, Mehran Sugar Mills, Sanghar Sugar Mills, Al-Noor Sugar Mills, Sindh Abadgar Sugar Mills, Habib Sugar Mills, Faran Sugar Mills, Ansari Sugar Mills, New Dadu Sugar Mills, Naudero Sugar Mills, Army Welfare Sugar Mills, Sakrand Sugar Mills, Shahmurad Sugar Mills, Dewan Sugar Mills, Sehri Sugar Mills, Al-Asif Sugar Mills, Tando Muhammad Khan Sugar Mills, Al-Abbas Sugar Mills, Mirpurkhas Sugar Mills, Al-Abbas Sugar Mills, Larr Sugar Mills, Ghotki Sugar Mills, Pangrio Sugar Mills, Mirza Sugar Mills, Bawany Sugar Mills, Najma Sugar Mills, and Dewan Sugar Mills, Badin have been advised to start operation from November 1st, they said.