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Sugarcane price fixed at Rs103 per 40 kg
By Muzaffar Qureshi
 Price
during last season was Rs81 per 40 kg which went as high as
Rs130 due to acute shortage of cane which resulted in the
shortest crushing season in the history of the province. -
APP/File photo of trucks loaded with sugarcane lining up in
front of a mill. KARACHI: The Sugar Factories Control Board
has fixed the minimum sugarcane price at Rs103 per 40 kg for
the crushing season 2009-10.
The price during the last season was Rs81 per maund which
went as high as Rs130 due to acute shortage of cane — 40pc
less than the previous crop. Cane shortage resulted in the
shortest crushing season in the history of the province
lasting only for two months compared to normal season of
over four months.
The new cane purchase price was recommended by the Sindh
Cane Commissioner in the board meeting held this week.
The board has representatives from mills and growers apart
from the government nominees.
The minimum cane purchase price in the Punjab has been fixed
at Rs100 per maund. The cane commissioner office sources
told Dawn that Sindh always sets its minimum purchase price
in line with the price fixed by Punjab.
Sindh always waits for the Punjab price and fixes it a few
rupees higher than that.
Sindh Abadgar Board President Majeed Nizamani told Dawn that
growers did not object to the new cane price because the
issue has almost become a political exercise and the
decision is always influenced by feudals and landlords in
the government. The meeting also discussed the issue of
payment of sugar development road cess charged at the rate
of Rs50 per maund and is shared 25 per cent each by the
mills and the growers.
The sugar mills deduct the growers’ share of the cess from
payment of cane dues and are deposited in the treasury.
The meeting was informed that several sugar mills have not
paid the cess since 1990-91 and these have accumulated to
over Rs90 million. The cane commissioner set June 30
deadline for payment of road cess dues by the defaulting
mills.
The payment of arrears of sugarcane dues to growers for the
2007-08 season also came up for discussion at the meeting.
Both the mills and the growers differ on dues figures, which
was put at Rs240 million by the former and Rs1 billion by
the latter.
The dues pertained to the crushing season, which was marked
by a bumper crop.
The minimum price then was fixed at Rs67 per maund which was
later reduced to Rs63 at the fag end of the season.
.
Courtesy: The DAWN
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