Growers increase prices of produce

The runaway inflation has increased the cost of cultivation, prompting the Sindh Abadgar Ittihad (SAI) to push for a significant increase in the purchase prices of wheat, cotton, rice, and sugarcane.

At a press conference at Hyderabad Press Club here on Monday, SAI’s President Nawab Zubair Talpur lamented that the cost of electricity had also increased. “A farmer who used to receive a bill of Rs25,000 for a month is now paying a bill of Rs100,000,” he said.

He added that inflation had made it difficult for the farmers to afford fuel. Likewise, he asserted that the rates of fertilizers had also doubled over the last few months.

According to him, a bag of DAP was being sold at Rs15,000, NP at Rs8,200 and urea at Rs2,700. He said the farmers were justified in demanding Rs4,000 per 40 kilograms rate for wheat because the government was currently importing wheat at the same rate.

Talpur added that the local farmers, on the other hand, were only being paid Rs2,200 per 40 kg, which was unjust. Likewise, Talpur also called for raising the rates of cotton to Rs10,000, rice to Rs2,500 and sugarcane to Rs500.