LAHORE - The sugar crisis has further intensified across Punjab, as Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, in defiance of LHC verdict, has straightforwardly refused to sell the commodity at Rs 36 per kg. 'It is impossible and unrealistic. We cannot afford this. The courts do not fix prices of the commodity anywhere in the world, Javed Kiani, Chairman Sugar Mills Association Punjab, told reporters while addressing a Press conference here on Saturday. Justifying his point, he said 'The ex-mill sugar costs owners Rs 38 per kg. Therefore no one should expect us to sell the sweetener at a loss of Rs 2 per kg. We cannot afford such huge financial losses. He also warned that if the govt attempted to use coercive measures and arrest the mill owners as a last resort the mills would be closed for the next crushing season. 'The federal and provincial governments should fight their political wars in the Assemblies and stop painting us as anti-people mafia, he emphasised. He further said that though they respected the High Courts verdict, yet it was based on incorrect statistics given by the govt and had been passed without giving the sugar mills adequate opportunity to put across their point of view. 'The mills will file a review appeal as soon as courts signed ruling is received, but in the meantime we could not sell sugar at Rs 36 per kg, he added. Kiani said the mills are ready to sell sugar at the realistic price of Rs 45 per kg as approved by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, adding, their sugar stocks were pledged with the banks. If they sell the commodity at a lesser price, the mills would not be in a position to pay out to the cultivators and the banks, he added. He warned that if the growers did not get reasonable prices of their produce, they would stop sugarcane cultivation and opt for other cash crops and the sugar crisis would continue to rage on in the coming years. 'If the Punjab government wanted to provide sugar to the masses at low prices, it should give subsidy on the commodity, he suggested. Meanwhile, according to the market sources, some mills are clearing their stocks at the old rates and the Akbari Mandi wholesale dealers continue to sell sugar at Rs 2,300 per 50 kg (Rs 46 per kg). However, some retailers on Saturday continued selling sugar at Rs 47 plus to the consumers while most of the shopkeepers stopped sugar sale in the open market and refused to sell sugar at the govt fixed price of Rs 40 kg. Meanwhile, the Punjab government Saturday sealed godowns of all the sugar mills and stockists in the province and started assessing the quantity of stored sugar. The government has deployed police and revenue department personnel at the godowns to stop the millers and stockists from taking out sugar. The government is also assessing the quantity of sugar stored at these godowns with the purpose to implement the Lahore High Court decision of purchasing the commodity at Rs 36 per kg. According to the sources, the talks between government officials and the millers are expected late Saturday night to resolve the issue of wholesale and retail prices of sugar. The cabinet committee members have also started pursuing the millers to sell sugar at the price ordered by the LHC. The millers, however, say that selling of sugar at Rs 36 per kg is out of question.