Sugar beet cultivation

Pakistan will not be able to produce sufficient sugar in coming years due to water shortage and land degradation. According to a fact finding report’s projection for 2008-2016 Pakistan will be importing about one million tonnes of sugar annually which will not only be a huge financial liability on the national exchequer but also an emerging threat to the sugar industry and related beneficiaries, i.e., mainly farmers and indirect stakeholders. Thus we have to find alternate or supplementary raw materials to meet the increasing demand of sugar raw materials, with less use of water. In this regard, sugar beet can be one of the best raw materials. It produces almost two times higher sugar yields per hectare with less water and other inputs in four to six months as compared to sugarcane that needs 12 to 16 months and require plenty of water.

The sugar industry is the second largest industry of Pakistan accounting for eight percent of the total value added in the large-scale manufacturing industries and contributing Rs 15 to 20 billion per annum in the shape of general sales tax, federal, provincial and local taxes. The direct employment in the industry is about 120,000 and about four million people are indirectly involved in this industry. Pakistan stands at fifth position in terms of sugarcane production and seventh and eighth in terms of sugar production and consumption. In terms of sugar production per hectare it ranked at a very low level of about four tonnes per hectare. It is interesting to note that the per capita consumption of sugar in Pakistan is about 25 kg per annum which is the highest among the developing countries.

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The agriculture sector in Pakistan is suffering from severe shortage of irrigation water. This shortage is increasing day by day and has reached above 30 percent. The water availability has reduced to 82 million acre feet, 2004, as compared to 103.5 million acre feet in 1977-01, caused a major setback in agriculture. With the passage of time the crop farming is relying more on the ground water which is not suitable for irrigation due to higher intensity of unwanted salts in many areas of Sindh and Punjab. This is also causing land degradation and raises cost of production of all agricultural commodities.

The area under various cash crops, especially sugarcane has decreased up to 10 percent. The sugar production was dropped to 2.7 million tonnes against the demand of 3.8 million tonnes during 2005-06. The gap between supply and demand was filled through imports which cost about $ 500 million.

The demand of sugar is to increase more in coming years due to growth in population, improvement in the per capita income and urbanisation. According to a rough estimate, by the year 2020 the country will need about 5.5 million tonnes of sugar to meet the demand and would require more than 1.5 million hectares of area under sugarcane crop compared to a little more than one million hectares, presently cultivated. The area may be difficult to increase due to competition with other staple food crops mainly wheat. Thus, the only choice is to increase the yield and sugar contents of the sugarcane per hectare through R&D. However, during the last 50 years the improvement in yield had not been significant and this situation will likely to continue in future.

Under these circumstances, the government is considering a plan to test the significance of sugar beet as a supplement to sugarcane for sugar production. Sugar beet is a low delta crop of short duration of about four to six months with low irrigation requirements of five to six times compared to 25 to 30 irrigations required by sugarcane, high delta crop. The Small and Medium Enterprise Authority (SMEDA) research suggested that promotion of sugar beet would be a supplement to sugarcane but not an alternative for sugar production.

In spite of the successful trials of sugar beet during last five years at various locations in Punjab and Sindh there are some unsolved questions, like the marketing or disposal of sugar beet crop. The sugar beet cultivation would not be feasible unless there is a ready buyer of the crop. The sugar mills may be the main buyers of crop but they are reluctant to make investment in modifications of their existing mills due to lack of confidence on crop availability and know how about handling the beet crop.

Sugar beet crop can provide a solution to the issues if the government along with the sugar industry can set long-term objectives and make appropriate arrangements for the promotion and utilisation of this crop. The crop can be grown as a winter crop both in lower Sindh and Punjab to be sown in October/November and harvested in March, April and May, after the cane crushing is over.

Sugar beet growing would be suitable in cotton and rice growing regions in Sindh and Punjab. Initially, it may compete with wheat and sunflower but later on it would be cultivated in the areas that are not suitable for sugarcane production, due to alkaline soils, because of its salt tolerance nature.

During cultivation the heat stress issue may arise but it can be solved by starting early in March. The other problem of degradation of beets can be handled by quick deliveries to the factory within 24 hours. It is also possible that mills make arrangements with the large growers or start growing their own beet.

There is a big market for sugar beet pulp in the country due to higher number of milking and meat herd. The beet pulp can be pressed and transported to the market for sale. The energy is high in pulp as 60 to 70 percent of dry matter is non-starch polysaccharides and 10 percent of dry matter is raw protein. SMEDA invited two experts from Germany to find out the solutions and suggesting technology and policy interventions.

The sugarcane cultivation in Pakistan occupies five percent of the total cropped area and accounts for 17 percent of the gross value added by all crops. But sugar production is not stable. There are some years when the sugar production not only meets the demand but also exported while in some years create a shortage that results into heavy imports. For instance, in 2005-06 production was about 2.7 million tonnes against a demand of 3.9 million tonnes, resulted import of about one million tonnes of white sugar to fill the gap.

The prices of sugar reached to a record level of Rs 35 to 40 per kg. It is predicted that retail sugar prices will continue to remain around Rs 32 to 35 per kg in the domestic market. The white sugar prices were $ 450 to 480 per tonne in the international markets during 2006, which had been between $ 220 to 250 per tonne during 2005.

The sugar production was estimated as 3.6 million metric tonnes in 2006-07 which showed a 30 percent jump as compared to last year. This rise was because of higher yields, an increase in sugarcane acreage and high market prices. According to MINFAL 77 sugar mills have sugar production capacity of 7.1 million tonnes. Government has set the target for sugarcane cultivation over an area of 1.39 million hectare for 2008-09 to further increase the sugar production. However, the stability in sugar production has not been achieved because of fluctuating transactional mode between the sugar millers and the sugarcane producers.

Total annual consumption of sugar was estimated as 3.95 million tonnes, 2006-07, which was forecasted to increase to 4.1 million tonnes in 2007-08. In 2008-09 Pakistan has to produce 4.73 million tonnes sugar to meet the estimated consumption of 4.2 million tonnes and the rest for the stocks.

Improved profit margin for cane, compared to competing crops especially cotton, led to an increase in cane area in the main cotton belt. In 2007-08 sugarcane production was forecasted at 56 million tonnes, an increase of 2.3 percent over the previous year due to an expected increase of getting better prices.

Provincial governments in 2006-07 increased the official cane purchase price for 40 kg to Rs 60 for Punjab, Rs 65 for NWFP and Rs 60 for Sindh. However, prices were a volatile issue between the growers and processors during the season. The growers refused to sell the cane at the official price and millers in some areas of Punjab and Sindh delayed the start of crushing season. The market prices for cane ranged from Rs 70 to Rs 90, depending on the region. In short Pakistanis are a sweet tooth nation uses sugar in each and every beverage which includes soft drinks, tea, cold drinks, sherbets and lassi. Sugar is also used in sweetmeats, bakery products, confectionary items and by the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, it is expected that the sugar demand will increase in future and Pakistan has to find alternates of sugarcane.

source:thepost