Pakistan : Farmers demand surplus sugar export, Rs5,000 wheat support price
Pakistan farmer groups have urged the government to immediately export surplus sugar and set the next wheat support price at Rs5,000 per maund. They warn delayed policies could hurt growers, while rising sugarcane acreage and production may create surplus stocks and deepen losses.
LAHORE: Representatives of various farmer organizations on Tuesday demanded the government to immediately allow export of surplus sugar and also set the minimum purchase price for next wheat crop at Rs5,000 per maund, warning that policy uncertainty and delayed decisions could cause heavy losses to growers and further undermine the agriculture sector.
Addressing a presser, Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar said wheat sowing is about to begin, yet the government has not announced any policy regarding the crop. Neither agriculture nor the farmers are among the government’s priorities. “We have been clamoring since a long time for the government to save the agricultural sector. Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy, and wheat is the backbone of agriculture. Wheat is the largest of all crops in Pakistan and serves as the engine for the entire agricultural sector; if the wheat crop is successful and fetches a good price, all other crops will also thrive,” he added.
He stated that farmers are unable to use balanced fertilizers; for instance, the same farmers who previously used 2.39 million tons of DAP are now using only 1.25 million tons. The sole reason for this is a lack of funds as farmers are not getting their production costs. “We pledge that if we get the international market rate for wheat, we will deliver record-breaking wheat production. A look at data from previous years confirms that whenever farmers received a good price for their crops, record production was achieved.” He demanded the government to fix the support price of wheat at Rs5,000 per 40 kilograms.
He further stated that sugarcane cultivation has increased by 16 percent this time, and sugar production is expected to rise by 25 to 30 percent this year. The government should reserve enough sugar for the public through November and export the surplus; if the sugar is not exported, farmers will face heavy losses. A loss incurred on one crop will lead to losses across the subsequent three crops.
Khalid Khokhar stated that if the government intends to deregulate, it should do so completely; it should not simply deregulate the sugarcane crop while maintaining full control over the others. He emphasized that no one is more patriotic than the farmers.
He noted that sugarcane has been cultivated on an area of 2.454 million acres this season. A thriving agricultural sector leads to a stronger economy. Farmers have yet to fully recover from the losses suffered with the wheat crop.
Farmers’ leaders said they do not want subsidies; instead, they want fair prices for their crops. Farmers are currently in deep distress, as everything, from their household circumstances to the state of their crops, is in a dire condition. There is no worse news than the fact that our children are shying away from agriculture, seeing that the returns do not even cover the cost of production. There is no policy in place for either wheat or sugarcane. He emphasized that food security is of paramount importance today.
Farmer leader Mahmood-ul-Hassan Bukhari stated that the government’s biggest shortcoming is its failure to make timely decisions. “If the government possesses complete data, why does it not export the surplus sugar? The government acted similarly in the past by failing to export sugar on time, and it was the farmers who bore the brunt of the resulting losses.” He added that if the government does not formulate a wheat policy, farmers will not sow the crop.
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Source : Business Recorder
