Notice issued: ‘Pay sugarcane farmers by July 31’

FAISALABAD:

Sugar mills have been ordered to make payments to farmers by July 31, a spokesman of the Punjab cane commissioner said on Saturday.

He said if mill owners failed to pay up before July 31, action would be taken against them.

Spokesman Abdul Hameed said the mills owed Rs9 billion to sugarcane growers. He said four months had passed since the crushing season but many farmers had still not been paid.

“The crushing season was over in March 2015. Under the rules, sugar mills have to ensure payments within 15 days after the crushing season ends,” he said.

He said mill owners had been told to clear the dues by April 15. He said the farmers had lodged dozens of complaints in this regard. “They cannot buy seeds, pesticides and fertilisers for their next crops,” he said.

The spokesman said the cane commissioner had sent notices to 15 sugar mills, warning them that strict action would be taken against them if they did not pay farmers by July 31.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2015.