TWO major issues being agitated by the farming community and sugar millers these days speak volumes about the need for adoption of transparent and judicious agricultural strategies to safeguard interests of both the growers and consumers. While Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) is lobbying hard and pressurizing the Government to allow export of the sugar, the farmers under the banner of the Kissan Board Pakistan (KBA) and Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) are protesting over crashing prices of the wheat grain due to, what they claim, non-intervention of the Punjab Government.
It is a matter of grave concern that in both cases neither farmers nor consumers are deriving due benefit which is mainly pocketed by the millers and the middlemen. Sugar mills are widely believed to be procuring sugarcane at much less prices than the officially announced procurement price on different pretexts but jack up prices of sugar creating artificial shortages or manipulating export of the commodity on not so authentic data/stock position. On several occasions, they succeeded in getting undue permission for export of sugar and such moves led to shortages in the domestic market with prices shooting up to a dangerous level. Based on the bitter experience, the government this time is exercising caution in taking a firm decision on the demand of the millers for export. For the time being, it has taken a decision in principle not to allow the export of sugar, keeping in view the possibility of escalating prices of the sweetener in the domestic market which have already gone up. It is to be seen whether or not the authorities and forums concerned would stick to their principled position as the sugar lobbies are well connected in power circles. Similarly, wheat growers are not getting the guaranteed (procurement) price of Rs. 3,900 per forty kilograms from private parties but they are unrealistically demanding of the Punjab Government to lift the commodity at Rs. 4,500. As wheat prices are falling to the disadvantage of growers, tandoors are resisting the decision of the Punjab Government to reduce the prices of roti and naan on the plea they are getting flour at higher prices. The farmers are also suffering due to untimely rains at the time of wheat harvesting. Their plight needs sympathetic consideration by the government and for the future, clear and transparent policies for price fixation, procurement, release to mills and marketing should be firmed up.
