HYDERABAD: The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture has declared sugar mill owners to be a mafia that economically exploits farmers, and has demanded that the Sindh government take strict legal action under the Sindh Sugarcane Act against sugar mills that are operating slowly in crushing sugarcane.
It has also demanded that the price of sugarcane be fixed at Rs 600 per maund.
The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture has made a shocking revelation that wheat cultivation in the province has declined by 32 percent, posing a serious threat of a food security crisis in the country. The organization has demanded that the government fix the support price of wheat at Rs 5,000 per maund and purchase at least 1.5 million metric tons of wheat directly from farmers.
In this regard, an important meeting of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture was held yesterday at its headquarters in Hyderabad under the chairmanship of the organization’s Central Patron-in-Chief and Central President, Professor Dr. Syed Nadeem Qamar. A large number of farmers from across Sindh participated in the meeting.
On the occasion, farmers staged a strong protest against the sugar mill mafia and stated that sugar mills are deliberately operating at a slow pace and are crushing only 25 percent of sugarcane. Many sugar mills are shut down at night, while thousands of tractor-trolleys loaded with sugarcane are forced to wait outside mills for three to four days. As a result, the sugarcane dries up and deductions are made from the price, causing exploitation worth billions of rupees. This, they said, is open hooliganism by the sugar mills.
The farmers demanded that the Sindh government take strict legal action against sugar mills that pay low prices and crush sugarcane slowly, and ensure a minimum price of Rs 600 per maund for sugarcane.
Criticizing government policies, the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture highlighted alarming facts regarding wheat cultivation, stating that due to flawed government policies, wheat sowing has declined by 32 percent this year, creating a serious risk to national food security. Therefore, the government should immediately purchase 1.5 million metric tons of wheat from farmers and store it in warehouses to prevent a food security crisis. To support wheat farmers this year, the government should announce and notify a minimum support price of Rs 5,000 per maund.
During the meeting, farmers said that although the water closure at Sukkur Barrage ended on January 21, canals have still not been opened. They complained that satisfactory repair work is not being carried out on Rohri Canal and Nara Canal, and appealed to the Sindh government to immediately take notice of the situation, ensure proper repair work, and open the Sukkur Barrage canals without delay.
The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture also expressed serious concern over the drastic fall in prices of tomatoes and onions, and demanded that the government take immediate steps to enable their export.
Farmers further stated that Pakistan imports edible oil worth $4 billion annually, and to save valuable foreign exchange, special attention should be given to mustard cultivation in Sindh, as the mustard crop is about to be harvested. They demanded a minimum price of Rs 10,000 per maund for mustard so that farmers are encouraged to cultivate it on a larger scale.
The Chamber also said that due to the absence of date exports over the past four years, farmers in Khairpur are facing severe hardship. The government should immediately make arrangements for the export of dates so that date growers are not economically ruined.
The meeting was attended by Sindh Chamber of Agriculture General Secretary Zahid Hussain Bhurgri, Nabi Bakhsh Suthio, Mir Abdul Karim Talpur, and many other farmers.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
Comments