Pakistan : Protests erupt as millers slash sugarcane rates
A sugarcane pricing dispute in Pakistan has led to protests and clashes between farmers and mills. Mills reduced the purchase price from Rs400 to Rs350 per 40kg, citing low sucrose levels, a claim contested by farmers. The lack of a minimum support price and government inaction has escalated tensions, with farmers demanding fair pricing and accountability.
A dispute over sugarcane pricing between farmers and sugar mills has escalated, marking the first 17 days of the 2023-25 crushing season with protests and unrest.
The management of local sugar mills has begun purchasing two approved sugarcane varietiesSPF 213 and CPF 252at a rate of Rs350 per 40kg, instead of the previously announced Rs400.
The price cut prompted farmers to stage protests outside the RYK and Hamza Sugar Mills, parking their loaded tractor trolleys at mill gates.
The confrontation intensified when mills ordered farmers to take back their sugarcane, threatening to expel their vehicles.
Clashes erupted between farmers and mill security staff, with both sides resorting to stone-throwing. The unrest disrupted traffic for hours on Shahrah-e-Jetha Bhutta, a key inter-provincial route, necessitating heavy security deployment.
The 2024-25 crushing season commenced on November 21, but the federal and provincial governments failed to set a minimum support price for sugarcane.
Unlike previous years, where sugarcane rates were determined by provincial sugarcane commissioners following Sugarcane Advisory Board recommendations, this year’s pricing was left to the open market.
Initially, JDW Group, led by prominent industrialist Jahangir Khan Tareen, announced a purchase rate of Rs400 per 40 kg. However, mills across Punjab and Sindh soon slashed rates to Rs350, citing lower sucrose levels in the cropa claim contested by farmers.
Farmers in southern Punjab, especially Rahim Yar Khan, have rallied against the mills’ practices.
Ali Sher, a protesting farmer, said demonstrations have been ongoing for two days outside Hamza and RYK Sugar Mills.
The Kisaan Bachao Tehreek Chairman Choudhry Muhammad Yaseen accused the mills of coercing farmers into signing affidavits agreeing to the lower rates.
He added that the mills themselves had promoted SPF 213 and CPF 252 varieties, supplying seeds and encouraging their cultivation, only to now refuse the approved rates. Farmers have also begun reducing supplies to mills as a form of retaliation.
The protestors argue that the sugarcane pricing dispute affects not just farmers but also Pakistan’s broader economy, given that 65-70% of the population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture.
The government’s inaction, they warn, could ripple across markets and industries.
Farmers’ organizations also criticized mill owners for allegedly exploiting tax loopholes, manipulating production records, and underreporting revenues from byproducts like bagasse.
Despite Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s earlier directive to monitor mills through cameras to curb stockpiling and tax evasion, no practical measures have been implemented so far.
Farmers are demanding urgent government action to ensure fair pricing and accountability. They argue that while mills cite low sucrose levels early in the season, the Supreme Court has mandated mills to pay a premium for sucrose levels exceeding 8.5%.
Despite this, mills reportedly manipulate payments.
All Pakistan Farmers Foundation Chairman Sayed Mahmoodul Haq Bukhari expressed disappointment over the government’s silence and called for immediate measures to protect farmers’ rights.
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Source : The Express Tribune
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