Farmers growing Sugar Cane discouraged by low prices
Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 5:59:43 by Wajahat Javed
Farmers growing Sugar Cane discouraged by low prices
Monday, March 12, 2012: Farmers growing Sugar Cane in Pakistan (mostly Punjab) are considering a shift to some other commodity in next season after the product fetched low prices in the commodity markets.
Farmers produced Sugar cane in large numbers more than the demand for the commodity thus because of surplus the prices have plummeted by as much as 40% in most districts across Punjab, forcing most small farmer to reconsider their
decisions to plant sugarcane for the next season.
The back and forth switch between farmers will continue as it is expected that low production next season will cause prices to rise, which in turn will attract more farmers the following year to grow sugarcane.
Tariq Chatta, a farmer, said, “That [spike in prices] lured more growers to plant sugarcane. This led to a surplus production, which caused prices to come during the current season.”
The prices of sugarcane are controlled by the government, but market forces can sometimes overtake the state’s mandated prices. For instance, during the 2011 season, the government had mandated a price of Rs3.125 per kilogramme,
but a shortage of supply caused prices to shoot up to Rs6.25 per kilogramme.
For the year 2012, the government has set a price of Rs3.75 per kilogramme, but most farmers are unable to get this price from sugar millers. In addition, production costs have risen, which has further squeezed margins for most
farmers.
Some farmers in Sindh have begun preferring cotton, which has begun to yield better margins. Sugarcane is a twelve month crop, requiring more extensive commitment than smaller landowners are able to give. Many have started growing
vegetables, which tend to have a growing time of 60 days or less.
Ghulam Mustafa Chaniho, a farmer, said, “The larger landowners can still afford to plant sugarcane and many have even increased their production of it for the coming year. The smaller landowners cannot afford that twelve-month
commitment.”
Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=15559
Posted by Wajahat Javed
on Mar 13 2012. Filed under Business, Pakistan.
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