President ZTBL address on 44th Annual Convention of
Pakistan Society of Sugar Technology (PSST) at Pearl
Continental hotel Rawalpindi.
The president ZTBL Ch. Muhammad Zaka Ashraf addressed
the concluding session of 44th Annual Convention of
Pakistan Society of Sugar Technology (PSST) as chief
guest at Pearl Continental Hotel Rawalpindi on 18.08.09.
President ZTBL said that sugar industry is the second
largest industry after textile and it playing an important
role in the economy of Pakistan. He suggested to establish
Sugar Technology Research Institute to utilize the
sugar brains/technologists in Pakistan for the improvement
for sugar industry on the pattern of SKI (Sugar Research
Institute of Australia) and development of new hybrid
sugar crop varieties. Sugar industry has potential
for the export of the sugar, molasses & ethanol. He
suggested to improve the sugar cane crop yield through
R&D and planning because in Pakistan sugar varieties
are very low in yield as compared to the varieties
grown in other countries e.g. in comparison with the
sugar cane yield in Australia and Egypt is 100.4 and
110.8 tonnes per hectare while in Pakistan the yield
is only 49 tonnes per hectare which is very low and
still deteriorating day by day. President ZTBL proposed
development of industry for proper utilization of
products by Govt. and Private sector partnership in
the field of power generation & fuel. There are more
than 100 other allied by products which can be developed.
Blending of fuel ethanol with patrol has been initiated
by the Govt. to save foreign exchange, he added. Later
on the President ZTBL distributed prizes, the shields
& awards related to the sugar industry of Pakistan