‘Surplus sugar export can resolve issues between farmers and mills’

LAHORE: Export of surplus sugar will help resolve issues between farmers and sugar mills.

It emerged in a meeting between officials of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (Punjab Zone) and Rana Iftikhar Muhammad, Chairman of Punjab Sugarcane Growers Association, according to a press release issued by PSMA.

The participants in the meeting discussed problems being faced by the growers. The PSMA spokesman claimed that growers’ association Chairman Rana Iftikhar Muhammad had agreed that production costs of manufacturing white sugar increased manifold due to high input costs.

He said during the crushing season of 2022-23, growers got the minimum support price of sugarcane at Rs.300 per ton whereas in 2023-24, the rate was fixed as Rs 400 per ton in Punjab and Rs 425 in Sindh, which later reached up to Rs.500 per ton. Because of this, farmers got a better return of their crop. PSMA officials said sugar rates had dropped and the association was still waiting for the export of surplus sugar. On the other hand, due to unnecessary delay in export, international prices of sugar are continuously receding, which are minimizing the opportunity to increase the country’s foreign exchange reserves, they added.

Rana Iftikhar Muhammad expressed concerns that farmers had suffered losses in other crops such as wheat, cotton and maize.

Their interest in sugarcane cultivation is increasing. It is anticipated that farmers will cultivate about 30% more sugarcane resulting in additional sugarcane production in the next season. Accordingly, surplus sugar production will again increase, the press release added.

In the meeting, an appeal was made to the Prime Minister to allow earlier export of surplus sugar to avail an opportunity of earning valuable foreign exchange for the country and issue instructions to formulate a permanent policy for export of the commodity.