LAHORE:
Pakistan’s sugar sector mismanagement has sparked disappointment among sugarcane growers – called the real stakeholders – as the millers and middlemen are accused of exploitation, with support from prominent politicians.
A few politicians own sugar mills while the rest of the millers have close relationships with the political elite, creating a win-win situation for those who are behind sugar shortages despite availability of surplus quantities in the country. This year, the growers have also been deprived of the guaranteed support price for sugarcane from the government as, under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the sugar market, along with wheat, has to be deregulated. Initially, the growers in Punjab were offered a price of around Rs350 per 40 kg, which at the end of the season is hovering between Rs400 and Rs450.
“Sugarcane prices in Sindh are relatively high, the province has got a low yield and they are trying to get the desired quantity from Punjab,” said an official of a Punjab-based sugar mill. “Growers were initially happy to fetch Rs400 per 40 kg, but as the crushing season is approaching its end, prices have been increased up to Rs460,” he added.
However, a large percentage of sugarcane growers are still under pressure due to the decades-old culture of delay in payments from most of the mills. This culture has provided an opportunity to the middlemen to enhance their influence because they have the capacity to hold the sugarcane crop and the sweetener. “We work extremely hard in our fields in the hope of receiving a fair price for our produce, but what most of the millers do with us is painful,” said Farooq Aziz, a grower from south Punjab.
The growers who have the capacity of loading their produce on tractor-trolleys and can wait for a long time before selling the harvest to the millers are also not happy. The millers often delay payments for months on excuses like high moisture content or weight disputes. “We have to knock on their doors for months before accepting lower prices after unjustified reductions,” Aziz added.
