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Delayed cane crushing a threat to
wheat crop
By Zafar Samdani
News from the cane crushing and wheat cultivation front - the
two have to be mentioned in one breath because they are
inextricably linked at this point in time, are negative;
they cast a dark shadow over the next wheat crop and suggest
shortage of staple food of Pakistan's people during the next
year.
The Sindh government appeared to have prevailed upon sugar
mill owners of the province but that proved a false
impression. The date for commencement of crushing remains
undecided. The only conclusion to be drawn from the
situation is delayed sowing in Sindh.
The view of cane fields and sugar mills is no different in
Punjab as sugar mill owners of the province, who were
required to undertake cane crushing from November 1, have
been insisting on November 30 for starting crushing. As the
Punjab wheat crop covers, for obvious reasons, a much larger
area than Sindh, this has the making of a serious setback
for wheat produce in the coming season.
The latest reports inform that the situation has been
resolved and crushing would commence from November 1 but one
would have to wait for strict adherence to this date by mill
owners who have been evasive and not exactly reliable in the
past.
The federal government's target of a 20.15 million ton wheat
crop for the 2004-05 season seemed achievable even though
high in view of the acute position of water availability.
However, close and purposeful coordination between the
federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal)
and Sindh and Punjab governments for boosting the crop,
promised fair results.
But, the controversy regarding the date of commencement of
cane crushing has jeopardized that possibility. Failure to
resolve the issue in the two provinces seems set to
undermine efforts to produce sufficient quantity of wheat
for domestic consumption.
Sugar mill owners of Sindh resisted meeting the revised
deadline fixed by the government for the commencement of
crushing, citing a host of reasons for their stand. That
amounted to damaging the next wheat crop even before it was
sown.
The original arrangement between the provincial
administration, Abadgar (growers) Board and Chamber of
Agriculture was for starting crushing early, that is, by
October 1, to "save water for the rabi crop and ensure
timely sowing of wheat" but mill owner unilaterally changed
the agreed schedule, reportedly because of 'financial and
technical constraints'.
October 15 was fixed as the new point for cane crushing in
Sindh but that too was not followed. Punjab was to begin
crushing by November 1. Mill owners of the province proved
no different from their counterparts in Sindh.
Considering that the cultivation cycle in Sindh is ahead of
Punjab by over a month, even the commencement of cane
crushing by October 15 meant delayed sowing of wheat.
Punjab's mill owners insisted on November 30 for starting
crushing, a date well past the right time for wheat
cultivation.
The situation is most unfortunate, indeed a script for
disaster. The government had gone out of the way to help the
sugar industry by instructing the Trading Corporation of
Pakistan (TCP) to purchase excess stocks with mill owners.
This was certainly not the government's responsibility and
the move was seen as extending special patronage to the
sugar industry.
This support has not been reciprocated. If anything, the
industry has become more demanding and seems to believe that
it can continue pressurizing authorities to gain more
concessions, knowing that the government was concerned about
the wheat crop. One could even call it a case of planned
collective black mail of the government by the sugar
production sector.
In view of the grave implications of delay in wheat sowing,
the federal government tried to avert the looming crises but
the result has been more controversy. The move by the
federal ministry for Food, Agriculture and Livestock
(Minfal) to resolve issues and get crushing started in
Punjab by November 1produced mixed to negative signals.
Following a meeting between the federal Food Minister and
the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) in Islamabad on
October 19, the minister announced that PSMA had 'agreed to
uphold its commitment of entering in to crushing season from
November 1, without conditions'.
However, the PSMA representatives maintained that the date
was agreed to in response to the government's acceptance of
its position on buffer sugar stocks with TCP that the
release of these stocks formed a serious threat to the
industry and stood in the way of starting crushing from
November 1.
The latest reports inform that PSMA has agreed to the
government's deadline but one should keep fingers crossed
till the information proves correct, mill owners settle
their affairs with growers and cane crushing is effectively
started, as against academic implementation of the fixed
date.
The PSMA has been demanding that buffer stocks should only
be sold in case of shortage of sugar and that too at a
higher price. It also wants a lower support price for sugar
cane. Earlier, the association's Sindh chapter cited
technical reasons and financial constraints were for its
inability to start crushing as per agreed schedule. These
demands are in the nature of taking undue advantage of the
government's need to ensure early sowing of wheat and
winning concessions from the authorities.
Some of the excuses, such as the need to conduct maintenance
of machinery were totally untenable and see through because
this is a routine activity for any industry and sugar mills
have sufficient time in the off season to prepare for
crushing.
The Sindh association had previously asserted that the
grower's dues had been 'almost fully cleared' following the
lifting of 400,000 tons of sugar by TCP from the zone's
mills. This position needs to be verified in view of the
association's admission that one percent growers may not
have been paid due to some 'genuine reasons'.
This is vague and suggests that the possibility of the
number of growers falling in this category could be much
higher than just 'one per cent'. The record of sugar millers
with regard to paying growers' does not inspire confidence,
particularly as delayed payments to farmers has been an
issue for many years. It is doubtful if the mill owners have
resolved it within the space of one year. Growers of Punjab
may turn out to be hit worse than those in Sindh on this
count.
Actually, instead of succumbing to the pressure tactics of
mill owners, the government should check the position Vis a
Vis payment to growers and put pressure on them to clear
their financial decks. The dues of grower's amount to huge
sums and, according to some estimates and reports, run in to
billions of rupees
The sum total of the situation seems that wheat cultivation
has already been considerably delayed in Sindh as it is over
one month ahead of Punjab and NWFP in its sowing and
harvesting cycle and the other two wheat producing provinces
may be headed for delayed cultivation.
The PSMA's stance has been a prescription for undermining
the next wheat crop just as its tactics have caused lower
produce during previous years. That wheat starts losing
yield if sown after a certain date is no secret to people
associated with the agriculture sector.
The loss is not insignificant as it is estimated to be about
one percent per day. One of the reasons for higher produce
in India's wheat-lands is timely sowing; it is regarded as
the starting point for enhancing output. The PSMA cannot be
unaware of this basic fact about the wheat crop.
All of its arguments for delaying crushing are palpably
counterfeit. There is just no justification for its
position. It should actually be grateful to the government
for introducing TCP to the sugar sector and bailing the
industry out of problems essentially of its own creation.
The government had no responsibility whatsoever for
intervening if sugar millers were overproducing and failed
to market their produce. What the industry needs to do is
plan in precise manner instead of forcing the government to
rescue it.
Influential segments with in the government have been
clearly patronizing the sugar industry and investing the
state's financial resources in it that could be used more
rewardingly in other areas of life. This policy must be
changed if Pakistan is to try to meet the national wheat
consumption requirements from indigenous production.
Continuation of the present policy of surrendering to the
sugar sector means supporting sugar mill owners by spending
foreign exchange resources on the import of wheat. This
policy is certain to make the existing wheat crises deeper,
more acute and a bigger burden on the national exchequer.
The sugar industry has also not taken any positive measures
for improving conditions in its own sector. It complains of
low sugar yield from the local crop but, except for one or
two mills, one does not know of any member organization of
PSMA that has invested in research for improving the sugar
content of the cane crop, an effort that would not merely
the farmer's interest but would benefit the millers far
more. It is in this area that PSMA should concentrate and
instead of milking farmers, help them produce better quality
cane, reduce cane cultivation area to play a positive role
in the development of the agriculture sector.
Courtesy:
The DAWN
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Pakissan.com;
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