Daily Times

HYDERABAD: Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) on Saturday has strongly condemned the propaganda campaign of Pakistan Sugar Mill Association (PSMA), Sindh Zone about the non-availability of sugarcane to the sugar mills in the province.

Talking to newsmen, SCA members, Nabi Bux Sathio, Zahid Hussain Bhurgari, Syed Aijaz Nabi Shah, Mir Abdul Karim Talpur said that the PSMA has got published such news in a section of press that growers of Sindh were not supplying sugarcane to the mills.

“The news is totally falls and fabricated and the millers are trying to create an excuse for turning off the boilers and keeping their mills closed till late December,” SCA said.

Their intention is, by the end of December, the sucrose content recovery of sugarcane will be at the optimum level i.e. would be ranging between 10 to 11 percent recovery, they added maintaining that growers of Sindh have regularly been supplying sugarcane to the respective sugar mills from the day one the mills got started crushing season.

It is pertinent to mention that Matiari and Digri sugar mills have started crushing on Oct25 and Nov5 respectively. Though, it was unanimously decided by the growers, millers and the government that the sugar mills would start crushing by Nov15.

Though few sugar mills have started crushing by the 1st week of November, it was clearly evident that growers have started supplying sugarcane and the recovery too was, and still is, at a reasonable level.

The real issue, they said is something different, they claimed saying that few sugar mills particularly, Sindh Abadgar sugar mills have started low rate on few varieties and offering Rs.160/40kg to the growers, and few mills also have started following it and started reduction on SPF-238 variety.

Following the illegal reduction of sugarcane prices by the mentioned mills, the growers of the area have stopped supply to those mills, they said

Therefore, SCA has condemned the Anti-farmer Campaign by PSMA’s Sindh zone and has appealed to the Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister of Sindh to issue directives to Cane Commissioner Sindh, for an inquiry against those sugar mills who are offering low price for sugarcane, which has forced growers to supply sugarcane at Rs160/40kg instead of support price of Rs182/40kg, fixed by the government.