Pakistan: Sindh sugarcane farmers crushed by government inaction

Sindh [Pakistan] November 25 : As Sindh moves to procure wheat for the 2025-26 season, the provincial government's indecision over setting sugarcane prices has triggered frustration among farmers, who blame policy paralysis on the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) loan conditions. The IMF has urged Pakistan to eliminate state-imposed distortions, promote market competition, and streamline subsidy factors that are currently affecting Sindh's agriculture sector, as reported by Dawn.

According to Dawn, although the Sindh Agriculture Department had officially notified November 15 as the start of the crushing season, several sugar mills remained inactive until November 21, leaving growers uncertain about the price they would receive. Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI) President Zubair Talpur, a farmer from Umerkot, lamented that mills had offered no clarity on purchasing rates. The provincial government, which skipped sugarcane price fixation last year, now finds itself cornered between IMF directives and farmers' expectations, who insist that the sugarcane rate must be announced alongside wheat's support price.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) Vice President Nabi Bux Sathio has reportedly written to the IMF's Islamabad office, questioning whether the Fund had restricted governments from fixing sugarcane prices. Sugarcane is cultivated on nearly 790,000 acres in Sindh land that also overlaps with wheat zones, leading to concerns that delayed cane harvesting could disrupt timely wheat sowing. Despite a meeting of the Sugarcane Control Board earlier this month, no representatives from the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association attended, and the session ended without decisions. It was only after a provincial cabinet meeting on November 19 that the crushing date of November 15 was officially approved. Farmers have demanded Rs600 per 40kg for sugarcane, citing the retail sugar price of Rs225-230 per kg, as highlighted by Dawn.

The Sindh Agriculture Research Department has calculated input costs at Rs 321,000 per acre, recommending Rs 545 per 40kg to the board. With 38 operational sugar mills and another expected to start this season, growers accuse millers of exploiting legal loopholes in the Sugar Factories Control Act to delay crushing until mid-December. The prolonged impasse risks both the wheat crop and the livelihoods of Sindh's cane farmers, as reported by Dawn.

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