The sugar crushing is likely to be delayed till December and it could have a negative impact on the industry and market, the sugar dealers told Profit. The price of sugar has reduced recently and currently touches Rs64-66 per kg but they could increase. Some of the sugar mills have started crushing in Punjab but it is likely that most of the mills would postpone crushing till December.
“Eid ul Azha would commence on November 8th or 9th and then there would be Ashura thus majority of mills are planning to start crushing in December,” said a sugarcane grower Malik Mukhtar of South Punjab. “The weight of sugarcane would also decrease and the farmers would get less payment for their produce, since it is feared that the prices of the sugarcane would remain between Rs130 -140 per maund if the crushing will remain delayed” he added. The government has announced Rs150 per maund, procurement price of sugarcane. A sugar dealer in Lahore – on condition of anonymity – said that the sugar prices are decreasing owing to less demand.
He said that the prices were roaming at Rs78 per Kg in Ramadan, when the demand was at its peak but now there is a decline. “The prices of sugar are continuously coming down for the last three weeks and on Wednesday, it touched Rs 6,200/per 100Kg,” he said adding currently only in Punjab the market has three million bags of sugar and it is enough to run the market till mid November but if the crushing is not started in November then there could be shortage of one million bags. He said that due to shortage in market, the prices of sugar would increase.
