Sugar production upin Sindh as yield improves

KARACHI: Sugar production in Sindh slightly rose to 1.672 million tons in the current season to March as cane yield improved. 

Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) data showed that the millers produced around 1.662 million tons of sugar in the same period a year ago.  “In Sindh, average recovery of sugar surged as farmers planted better variety of sugarcane,” said Mahmood Nizamani, vice president of Sindh Abadgar Board. “This also drove profits of the sugar mills.”

The millers crushed 16.02 million tons of sugarcane in the October-March period as compared to 16.53 million tons a year earlier.  Some 25, out of total 39 sugar mills in the province, have completed production operation for 2015/16 season. 

Sugarcane production in the province recovered from its low level recorded in the last year. Sindh is estimated to have 40 percent share in the total sugar production in the country.

Nizamani said this is one of the industries, which expanded over the last 10 years.                       

“At least eight new sugar mills have been established, while the closed sugar mills of the government have also resumed operations,” he added.  An analyst said the mills enhanced their production capacities due to improving financial viability of the sugar business in the province.

The current sugar stocks held with mills in Sindh increased nine percent to 1.53 million tons as against 1.46 million tons earlier.

Sugar mills produced more than five million tons of white sweetener in the three provinces during 2015/16 as against the domestic consumption of around 4.7 million tons. The production stood at the same level of 2014/15.

“The production surpassed the domestic requirement, with piling up carryover stocks from the last year,” Iskandar Khan, chairman of PSMA (central) said.   Industry players said sugar export is crucial because of the surplus stock. They also said it’s also important to avert price crash.

Notably, retail prices of sugar are hovering at Rs63-64/kg as compared to Rs58-60/kg few months ago.  Millers said export is quiet unfeasible as international price is low. “This year again PSMA is facing problems to offload surplus stock in the wake of low international sugar prices,” Khan said. “The local market is oversupplied, but the government has not extended the cutoff period for the export quota.”   The government allowed 500,000 tons of sugar exports with a subsidy of Rs13/kg till March 31.  The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data showed sugar exports fell 35 percent to 291,582 tons in the first ten months of the current fiscal year.