Farmers struggle as sugar mills ‘delay’ cane purchase

Mills dismiss the charge, say they reject cane on quality grounds.

LAHORE: It has been weeks since sugarcane crushing began this season, but many farmers are still struggling to sell their crop to sugar mills, which are delaying their purchases, say farmer bodies.

They claim that except for Punjab, which produces 70% of the cane crop, farmers in other provinces are not experiencing any such scenario. A majority of Punjab farmers are anxiously waiting to sell their harvest in order to meet daily expenses and utilise the money to continue their crop cycle.

Experts believe the sugarcane crop will be worth around Rs200 billion this season.

“Crushing in sugar mills is going on at a snail’s pace, this is creating a sense of resentment among farmers, who are bearing daily transport and manpower expenses,” said Sarfraz Khan, Vice President of Kissan Board Pakistan, a farmer’s lobbying group.

The manpower and transport charges from harvest to sale were around Rs50 per 40 kg as farmers had to wait for days and in some cases weeks to sell the crop, according to Khan.



Failing to cope with the situation, many farmers, particularly the small ones, had started selling the crop in open market or to middlemen acting on behalf of the millers at prices ranging between Rs155 and Rs165 per 40 kg, he added.

These prices are far below the support price of Rs170 per 40 kg set by the government for this season.

A high support price has encouraged the farmers to plant sugarcane crop in the past few years, but the millers have always objected to an increase in price, believing it will push sugar prices up.

Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has expressed concern over the high support price, but the government is apparently using the support price of sugarcane and wheat to woo farmers in the upcoming national elections.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2012.