Also, some portion of the sugarcane crop is used for the production of gur (jaggery), especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The sugarcane crop has a longer duration than the other cash crops in the country. The sugar sector provides direct employment to one million people and has a market size of Rs501 billion as of 2021. The government has continuously increased the support price on sugarcane from Rs126 per 40kg in 2011 to Rs300 per 40kg in 2022 to incentivise the farmers to increase sugarcane production. The sugarcane farmers face delays in payments and low income due to the seriously low price paid by the mills compared to the support price announced by the government.

Source: Pakistan Today January 13, 2023 07:40 UTC