KARACHI:Sindh Chief Minister’s Adviser on Agriculture Manzoor Wassan, on Tuesday, said that efforts were underway to start crushing season in the province at the earliest as relevant law also provided for start of crushing season by 30 November.
He was presiding over a meeting of Sindh Sugarcane Board regarding fixation of support price of sugarcane and starting of crushing season. Secretary Agriculture Ijaz Mahesar, DG Agriculture Noor Muhammad Baloch and representatives of Sindh Abadgar Board, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture and PASMA attended the meeting.
Manzoor Wassan at the occasion said that a Sindh government had always supported the agriculture community and a lucrative support price of sugar cane was set in previous year as well.
Representatives of growers’ bodies said that the farmers of Sindh had suffered enormous losses due to recent floods therefore sugar cane support price should be fixed at least at Rs 320 to Rs 330 per maund.
The sugar mills owners informed the meeting that a large stock of sugar was available in the country that could be exported to earn foreign exchange. They requested Sindh government to take up the matter of export of additional stock of sugar with federal government.
The adviser said that decision regarding the support price of sugarcane and start of crushing season would be taken in the next meeting of the board.