Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Chairman Javed Kiyani on Monday said that crushing season would start in the province by November 25, which would help decrease sugar prices.
Addressing a press conference here, Kiyani said during the forthcoming crushing season, if sugarcane would be available to the industry at Rs 200 per maund (40-kg) then sugar would be around Rs 70 per kilogramme and if the support price of Rs 125 per maund could be ensured then sugar rates would be around Rs 60 per kilogramme. He also hoped for an improved recovery rate this season.
PSMA Chairman held the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and the government responsible for the prevailing sugar crisis, as he claimed that millers had been asking the government since October 2009 to import sugar but no body listened to them. He said the Punjab government too had asked the federal government to import sugar immediately but there was no response from them.
According to him, mills are not getting cane at the support price and it is expected that it would remain high. If they get cane at government announced support price then the sugar price would come down to Rs 60 per kg. The government should also not impose sales tax and excise duty on sugar. In the world, kitchen items are exempted from sales tax and the government should also follow this practice, as it would provide direct relief to the consumers.
He said the millers don't have sugar stock, since all has been sold. "On September 30, we had 270,000 tonnes of sugar in stock and in October all was sold; now the market is dry. Millers in the start of this year asked the government to let them import raw sugar but it was denied. At that time, price of raw sugar in international market was at 18 cent and import would have been beneficial but now it is roaming at 32 cent. If raw sugar is imported now then sugar price would be Rs 90 per kg," he added.
Kiyani said the sugar prices could only be controlled through better supplies and hence the TCP should off load its stocks immediately to control sugar prices. "TCP has 280,000 tonnes of sugar stocks and it should work round the clock if it wants to save people from high sugar prices," he added.