According to press reports, the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has strongly criticised the Ministry of Industries of estimating unrealistic sugar production cast at Rs 54 per kg official support price of sugarcane announced by the government.
The PSMA claims that their average production cost is Rs 64 per kg based on the cost of sugarcane already purchased without a sales tax of 8 percent and central excise duty of 2.5 percent levied since March 2011. The prevailing retail prices of sugar are from Rs 75 to Rs 80 per kg and will likely reach Rs 100 per kg in the holy month of Ramadan.
The PSMA claimed that although the hike in the price is unjust but the PSMA has never influenced the price and has always let the market forces take its course. Why is the PSMA not telling the consumers who controls the market forces?
Who is responsible for manipulating supply and demand? Who creates the artificial shortage? Who is monitoring the PSMA members’ mills’ actual production and declared production? How can it be possible that those mills having a production capacity of 10,000 tone sugar cane crushing per day (TCD) and those with 4000 to 5000 (TCD) capacities are same?
Most of the sugar mills owners are sitting in the assemblies as representatives of the people. In fact, they are in the assemblies to protect their interest and generate more wealth from the sugar mills. All the profit made by sugar barons is at the cost of the hapless consumers. The government has failed to protect the basic rights of the consumer to make essential food items available at an affordable price. It is also not fair for the government to impose a sale taxes on items of daily use. It seems that the government and business community are hand-in-glove to rob the masses?
S T HUSSAIN
Lahore