Govt refuses to push sugar mills on early crushing; Rana Tanveer points to IMF curbs
RAWALPINDI:
After vegetables, the country is now bracing for a renewed sugar crisis, with prices in the open market soaring back to Rs200 per kilogram, and official-rate sugar virtually disappearing from retail shops across major cities.
According to traders, the government-fixed price of Rs181 per kg has become meaningless, as no shop in Rawalpindi or the surrounding areas is selling at that rate. Wholesale prices have also shot up, with a 50-kilogram bag now costing Rs10,000, up sharply from previous weeks.
The fresh surge comes amid a 25 per cent increase in transport fares by goods carriers operating between Karachi, Rawalpindi and Peshawar, a rise traders say will further compound retail prices.
Market watchers fear this round of hikes could spiral in the coming days if the crushing season for sugarcane is delayed any further.
Meanwhile, the crisis also dominated the latest session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research, where Federal Minister for Food Security RanaTanveer Hussain briefed lawmakers on the situation.
“We have decided not to pressure the sugar mills to begin crushing,” he told the committee, explaining that each mill would decide for itself when to start operations. “Any mill can begin crushing whenever it deems fit. Whether in the first week of November or by the twentieth, it’s entirely up to them,” he added.
The minister pointed out that last year the price of sugarcane ranged between Rs400 and Rs700 per maund, and under the IMF agreement, the government is not allowed to fix the procurement price of the crop.
“Punjab’s sugarcane crop will be ready by November 1,” Rana Tanveer said, noting that mills prefer late crushing to maximise recovery.
Sources told The Express Tribune that the federal government had earlier reached an understanding with sugar mills to begin crushing in the first week of November, with the agreement signed by Minister Rana Tanveer on behalf of the government.
However, by deciding not to enforce that timeline, the government has effectively safeguarded mill owners’ interests, a move critics say will once again hurt farmers.
Late crushing, they warned, leaves growers facing heavy losses as their standing crop loses weight and quality, and also delays the sowing of the next crop, creating a ripple effect across the entire agricultural cycle.
Traders now fear that unless the crushing season begins on time, sugar prices will continue their upward climb, fuelling yet another wave of inflation just as the masses struggle with soaring food costs.
