Millers ask govt to buy sugar from them and shun imports

Have surplus of one million tons, offer 400,000 tons to govt.

ISLAMABAD: Sugar millers have proposed to the government to purchase 400,000 tons of sugar from the domestic market instead of importing the commodity at a higher price.

The proposal was floated in a meeting of the Sugar Advisory Board held at the Ministry of Industries and chaired by the ministry’s additional secretary. A summary in this regard will be tabled before the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet for approval.

Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) chairman, Punjab food secretary, representatives of cane commissioners of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, officials of the State Bank of Pakistan, members of Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) and sugarcane growers attended the meeting. According to sources, the growers lashed out at the sugar millers for blocking their payments and asked the government to take action against them.

“The government should set sugarcane price at Rs200 for 40 kg at the beginning of crushing season,” as there were different rates in provinces, a source quoted the farmers as saying.

The meeting discussed the proposal that the TCP should buy 400,000 tons of sugar from the millers, who had one million tons in surplus, to keep strategic reserves.

According to a statement issued on Monday, representatives of the provinces provided statistics about sugar production so far and estimated output this season, which will end around March 20 in northern Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and by March 25 in southern Punjab and Sindh.

Sugar millers said keeping in view the current average sugar production per day and sugarcane available with the growers, Punjab is expected to produce 3.1 million tons, Sindh 1.26 million tons and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 0.375 million tons. This suggests that total production will be around 4.735 million tons in the 2011-12 crushing season and a carryover stock of 500,000 tons will take the total to 5.2 million tons.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2012.