PKI objects to higher sugar price allowed to millers by Punjab govt

LAHORE:The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) has expressed utter shock over procurement of sugar at much higher price of Rs140 per kg from sugar mill owners by the Punjab government.

Our members, being sugarcane growers and sugar consumers, are finding it hard to comprehend logic of the provincial government to deal with supply and rates of sweetener in the market. First, authorities acted as silent spectators and sugar prices ballooned to Rs200 per kg. Now, government in a matter of few days mutually decided with the mills to buy sugar at Rs140 per kg, said Khalid Mahmood Khokhar, President Pakistan Kissan Ittehad, in a statement issued here on Monday.

He recalled that the sugarcane minimum purchase price was fixed at Rs300 per 40kg for the previous crop and the federal government estimated and notified sugar retail price at Rs98.82 per kg for the current marketing season accordingly. However, he was astonished to note that the Punjab government allowed sugar mill owners to increase sugar price by over 40 percent, terming it an arbitrary step.

He was commenting on the statement of caretaker chief minister about selling of sugar at concessionary rate at model bazaars and Sunday bazaars. Talking to a delegation of sugar mill owners in Lahore on Sunday, the CM said sugar mill owners would sell sugar to provincial government at a rate of Rs140 per kg and sale of this sugar would benefit the people of the province.

Kissan leader said if management of sugar mills is allowed to sell sugar at much higher price by the provincial government, farmers are justified to demand over 40 percent higher sugarcane dues on the similar lines for previous crop with retrospective effect. Farmers are very much within their right to ask for the compensation over low sugarcane price similar to what the provincial government permitted to sugar mill owners over price of sweetener, he added.

He termed consent given to sugar mills for increasing sugar price without consulting stakeholders particularly sugarcane grower is tantamount to backstabbing farmers and consumers. Besides being cultivators, we are also consumer of the sugar. Hence, the abrupt decision taken by the Punjab government to raise sugar price by over 40 percent is really shocking and contrary to rules and regulations. The Rs140 per kg price is a sweet relief to mill owners, not the farmers or the consumers, he observed.

PKI president also demanded action over calculation of wrong sugarcane price for previous season, which was on much lower side. If the Punjab government really wanted to lift sugar price by over Rs41 per kg than the notified sweetener price based on Rs300 per 40kg sugarcane rate, they should have investigated first why rate of sugarcane was fixed at lower side, he posed a question.