FAP meeting today: government warned against exporting expensive sugar

Pakistan Sugar Mills Association has warned the government that the sugarcane crushing season 2011-12 will be delayed till the first week of December, having adverse effects on the sowing of wheat and other Rabi crops if it went ahead with the import of 0.4 million expensive sugar plan.
"Unless and until we clear our previous sugar stocks and the banks' liabilities, the cash starved sugar mills cannot start the crushing in the second or third week of November," Javed Kayani, Chairman Pakistan Sugar Mills Association told Business Recorder, here on Monday.
Kayani said, "PSMA has a leftover sugar stocks of 0.75 million tons from the previous crop whereas the country's monthly consumption is about 0.35 million tons. Therefore, if the government wants to build strategic reserves, we are ready to supply 0.4 million tons at a much lower price in Pak rupee than the international market". This would help PSMA to clear its previous liabilities, as it requires at least Rs 200 to 300 billion cash to pay to the farmers for their produce during 2011-12 crushing season.
He further said, "Let Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) float a tender for supply of 0.1 million ton sugar locally and see the positive outcome of offers of PSMA members", Kayani emphasised. He added, "as a Pakistani I fail to understand why some circles in the government are insisting on importing the sweetener when there are more than sufficient stocks in the country."
Kayani said Pakistan would be harvesting a bumper sugarcane crop this year as according to Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission's (Suparco) estimates, the sugarcane production is likely to be more than 54 million tons. According to PSMA experts the sucrose content of the sugarcane is good to produce 4.8 million to 5 million tons of sugar during 2011-12 crushing season. Punjab is expected to produce 3 to 3.2 million tons of sugar, Sindh 1.3 to 1.4 million and KP 300,000 to 350,000 tons. Our local yearly sugar consumption is around four million to 4.2 million tons, therefore Pakistan can start exporting sugar from the next year.
Meanwhile, representatives of farmers and growers associations, market sources and sugar experts have expressed apprehension that sugar crisis may aggravate further and put strong pressure on the fragile agriculture sector in case the government allows import of sugar at this stage. They added that the crop is ready for harvesting and there are sufficient buffer stocks with the sugar mills.
Farmers Associates of Pakistan (FAP) has called an emergency meeting of the body here today (Tuesday) to discuss the sugar situation and its impact on the growers of the three provinces. Talking to this scribe, FAP Chairman Dr Tariq Bucha said that the 'selfish bureaucracy is determined to destroy country's agriculture sector and farmers as they provide social stability and food security to the nation. We will announce our action plan after consultations with the other stakeholders to press upon the government to give due priority to the agriculture and welfare of the small farmers.
President Pakistan Agri Forum, Ibrahim Moghal said that 0.9 million farmers families are engaged in sugarcane growing over 2.2 million acres of land across the country to produce more than 4.5 million tons of sugar which is sufficient to meet the country's yearly consumption.
He said it is an irony that when our crops like sugarcane, cotton, maize, sunflower vegetables etc are ripe for harvesting, the 'baboos' of Islamabad allow import of these commodities so that Pakistani farmers could not get fair price of their labour and investments." Opposing the import of sugar, Mughal said though some sugarcane crop in lower Sindh has been damaged, yet crop in other parts of the country is very good with higher sucrose content, therefore, total sugar production would not be affected.