CM blames Centre for farmer-miller crisis

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has once again blamed the federal government for the dispute between sugar cane farmers and mill owners.

Addressing the media at the 1st Sindh Tripartite Labour Conference that was held at a local hotel on Monday, Murad said his government had vowed to provide additional subsidy for the export of sugar so that crushing by sugar mill owners could start at the earliest. The chief executive, however, expressed disappointment over the fact that the Centre was yet to issue a notification about the subsidy that was announced earlier.

Responding to a question, the CM said his Sindh government was sincere with growers and had notified the price of sugar cane at Rs182 per 40 kilograms, adding that the provincial administration had already issued a notification about it.

Murad said that in the last meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI), the federal government had decided to provide a subsidy of Rs10.7 per kilogram for the export of sugar. In order to break the deadlock between sugar cane farmers and sugar mill owners, the Sindh cabinet had decided to provide an additional subsidy of Rs9.3 per kilogram so that millers could get a subsidy of Rs20 per kilogram to accept the Rs182 per 40 kilograms sugar cane price and start crushing, he added.

“I am sorry to say that the federal government, despite making a decision in the CCI meeting, has not announced it yet. The federal government is responsible for the present crisis.” The CM advised the farmers to demonstrate patience, and assured them that their problem would be resolved soon. “I would talk with the federal government again and ensure that they issue the notification.”

He also said the conference would generate some valuable guidelines for the provincial government to formulate a new labour policy that was acceptable to all the stakeholders. The tripartite labour conference that was organised by the Sindh Labour Department was also addressed by the labour minister, the International Labour Organisation country director and others.