PESHAWAR (APP) - The sugar mills of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have started crushing after the initiation of supply of sugarcane by the farmers in Peshawar, Mardan and D.I. Khan, officials of the sugar industry told APP on Tuesday. We have started crushing with the start of the current month. The supply of sugarcane sometime remains maximum and sometime very less. However, we are confident that the supply would be further improved with the passage of time, said Sajjad Ahmad, an official of Premier Sugar Mills Mardan when contacted. The sugar mills, he said is offering a handsome price of Rs.300/- per 50 kilogram doubled than rate offered last year to the growers. Khazana Sugar Mills Peshawar is crushing sugarcane since November 3. However, the management says that the shortage of the availability of crop is creating hurdle in the continuation of the sugarcane crushing. Last year the two sugar mills of Peshawar Valley, PSM Mardan and KSM, Peshawar have failed in initiating crushing due to poor availability of the sugarcane to them. Fahim, an official at Cheshma Sugar Mills D.I. Khan said that the mills is all set to start crushing season from 26th saying the launching of the sugar production is linked with the availability of the crop. He said that indications for the supply of sugarcane are good. He said that supply of sugar would get momentum with the passage of time. The country was facing severe sugar crisis and the price of the commodity climbed record high in the month of Oct. The commodity was being sold at Rs.110 to Rs.120 at the retail level. The supply of the sugar from the stock of Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP), has improved the situation bringing down the price of the commodity at both wholesale and retail levels in the country. The 50-kilogram bag of sugar of both good quality and imported quality has registered a decline of Rs.1000/- per bag during last two-weeks. The bag of the locally produced good quality Tuesday remained at Rs.4200/- and imported quality at Rs.3900/- per bag in the local wholesale market. The supply of sugar to the market after the Eidul Azha holidays has improved and with the arrival of the local produced sugar in the market the price would be declined further, said Munazzam Malik, president of the Peshawar Sugar Dealers Association. Last year the seven sugar mills of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produced 190,000 ton sugar and target for the current is 2,00,000 ton. The Sugar Cane Commissioner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Saeedur Rehman is optimistic for the achievement of the sugar production target of the province for the current year.