The Sindh Abadgar Ittehad has demanded of the Sindh Government to fix the official procurement rate for sugarcane crop at Rs 220 per maund while rejecting the recently fixed rate of Rs 182. At a press conference at Hyderabad press club on Thursday, Ittehad's President Nawab Zubair Talpur and General Secretary advocate Ali Palh complained that their organisation was not consulted before deciding the rate.
"The Sindh Agriculture Minister Suhail Anwar Siyal announced the price after a meeting with representatives of the sugar mills and farmers.
But the Ittehad was neither invited at the meeting nor consulted before the government announced Rs 182 rate," Talpur complained. He recalled that when the per kilogram price of refined sugar was Rs 44 in 2015, the sugarcane farmers had demanded Rs 185 per maund rate last year. However, now the per kg price of sugar has increased to Rs 70 and the farmers cost of cultivation had also increased in 2016, he added.
"The Rs 182 rate will cause financial loss to the farmers," he contended, warning that the reduced price would discourage farmers from cultivating sugarcane crop. The Ittehad while reiterating their demand for Rs 220 rate warned of taking recourse to protests from October 23.