HYDERABAD: The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) has complained that sugar millers have drastically scaled down the cane crushing process. It has also deplored that the millers have reduced procurement price of the 2024-25 cane crop by Rs100-150 per 40kg.
In a statement issued here on Friday, SCA General Secretary Zahid Bhurgari said that the millers had a capacity of crushing 200,000 maunds per day but they were crushing only 50,000 maunds.
He said that hundreds of sugar cane-laden tractor-driven trolleys, trucks and trailers had been queueing up outside different mills for several days but millers had mischievously stopped the procurement process.
“These 35 sugar millers are holding millions of cane growers psychologically hostage,” he remarked, and said that this cartel was exploiting the farmers, who were the basic stakeholder of the billions-making sugar industry.
Says hundreds of cane-laden vehicles have been parked outside mills for many days; crushing drastically slowed down, low prices being offered to farmers
The SCA leader urged government to register cases against these sugar millers under relevant laws, and seal off their mills.
He called for ensuring Rs400 per 40kg payment to to cane growers, and stressed that the pace of cane crushing should also be normalised as per the mills’ capacity.
He noted that the millers, who had formed a cartel, had reduced the procurement price from Rs475 to Rs375 per 40kg just within a week.
Mr Bhurgari also expressed his organisation’s serious concern over closure of the procurement process which, he said was causing great unrest to cane growers.
He said that the unrest might turn into agitation as they were extremely worried about the heavy losses they were very likely to suffer.
The SCA leader pointed out that the sugar industry is “an economy involving billions of rupees”, and wondered that no action against these millers was being taken by government for looting this economy.
He explained that the cane crop was drying up as the stocks loaded on hundreds of vehicles parked outside the mills were not being accepted by the millers. The dried cane loses weight hence causing unnecessary losses to the growers in terms of weight and quality.
Mr Bhurgari also noted that a favour was extended to Sindh’s sugar millers by allowing them to export the commodity.
The federal government had earlier allowed them to export 890,000 tonnes of sugar whereas another 500,000 tonnes would be exported this month.
He said that around 1.3m tonnes of sugar would be exported by the millers. This had rekindled the hope among farmers that they would be getting adequate price of their produce. On the contrary, he said, the price had been reduced drastically.
The SCA leader termed it a conspiracy against sugar cane growers, and apprehended that such a situation would discourage them to cultivate the crop next year.
He appealed to the Sindh chief minister and cane commissioner to take notice of this “sheer exploitation of farmers” by the millers, and make sure that a price of Rs400 per 40kg was paid to farmers.
He stressed that the pace of cane crushing should be expedited and all closed sectors reopened to resume the procurement process in order to put an end to the “economic murder of sugar cane growers”.
He said all those millers who were violating the relevant law should be booked and taken to task.
Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2025
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