According to press reports the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) is giving the warning that the price of sugar will increase to Rs 80/kg if the TCP did not buy at least 200,000 tons sugar from sugar mills immediately. The sugar mills baron will not be in a position to pay to the sugarcane growers. It is not a new demand from the PSMA which is a powerful lobby and whose owners are sitting in the assemblies as representatives of the people to protect their own financial interests.
They use bank loans to put up their factories and then borrow from the banks for the purchase of sugarcanes and are at a liberty to increase the prices of sugar at their own will.
They have always many excuses to increase the prices of sugar on various pretexts, such as international prices of sugar but they will never decrease sugar prices when the international prices of sugar are low. They manipulate demand and supply through their middle man dealers and also encourage smuggling to Afghanistan.
Although the Competition Commission of Pakistan found them guilty of cartelisation and fined them, they were able to have a stay order from the High Courts of the Pakistan to restrain CCP from recovering fine from them. The sugar barons consider themselves above the law.
S T HUSSAIN
Lahore