The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) Thursday demanded a complete ban on setting up of new sugar mills in the country saying the current capacity was sufficient to cater to the needs for the next 40 years.
“Establishing new sugar mills is counter-productive as 84 mills in different parts of the country are already producing surplus while the government has to spend billions for export of surplus sugar,” said PSMA Chairman Iskander Khan.
Khan said sugar mills were governed through obsolete laws framed in 1950 which was the main reason behind continuous sugar crises in Pakistan.
Lauding the decision of government to provide subsidy worth Rs 10 per kg to the sugar mills, Khan termed it necessary to keep the troubled industry afloat. However, he said providing subsidy to growers instead of millers would be a better option.
The PSMA chairman said that sugarcane was costliest in Pakistan as compared to other countries while uniform price of the crop irrespective of the quality have left growers with no incentive to opt for better quality. Therefore, price of sugarcane should be linked to the quality.
The government should also take stakeholders on board and support sugar mills to generate up to 2,500 megawatts of electricity, he said.
