MULTAN:Representatives of various farmer bodies, including Pakistan Kissan Ittehad and Kissan Bachao Tehreek, on Sunday demanded the government fix the sugarcane support price at Rs 700 per maund and ensure sugar mills commence crushing operations by November 1.
According to a spokesperson, Pakistan Kissan Ittehad Central President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar, Kissan Bachao Tehreek leader Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad, and All Pakistan Kissan Foundation Chairman Syed Mahmood-ul-Haq Bukhari warned of a nationwide protest movement if mills delayed operations past the deadline.
Khalid Mahmood Khokhar stated that sugarcane cultivation had registered a 21 percent increase this season, promising up to 30 percent higher sugar yield. He urged the government to protect growers from arbitrary weight deductions and financial exploitation by mill owners, emphasizing that rising input costs were causing severe losses to tenant farmers.
Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad noted that delays in starting the crushing season were compounding hardship for farmers with standing crops, adding that mills in Sindh had also missed their traditional mid-October start date.
Syed Mahmood-ul-Haq Bukhari called for a transparent, farmer-friendly sugarcane policy ensuring accurate weighing and prompt payments, stressing that the record yield should benefit growers rather than turn into a financial burden.
Kissan Bachao Tehreek Pakistan Chairman Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, Anjuman Kashtkaran representative Amir Ghani, and Sugarcane Growers Association Chairman Junaid Aslam Naich were also present on the occasion.