ISLAMABAD: Ministry of National Food Security and Research Sugarcane Coordinator Sohail Muhammad Khan has hopped that the local sugar production would reach 4.7 million tonnes during the current season.
He said that the total domestic requirements of the sugar were estimated at 4.2 to 4.3 million tonnes per annum, whereas it is expected that the domestic stocks would further boost up during the current year.
The minister further said that the sugarcane crushing has started in Punjab as the provincial government had fixed the commodity support price at Rs 180 per 40kg to ensure proper rate of return to the farmers for their produces.
He said that the surplus sugar production was expected this year too despite sugarcane cultivation was decreased in the lower Sindh areas. The main reason behind declining crop in Sindh, he said, was failure of the provincial government in implementation of official fixed price of Rs 172 per 40kg of sugarcane during last year’s crop season.
He said sugarcane production was estimated at 62.5 million tonnes as compared to the set targets of 63 million tonnes for the current crop-sowing season to fulfil the domestic requirements as well as for the export.
