Indian sugar mills association

UP sugar mills owe Rs.2,000 cr to farmers

Date:	22 Aug 2017

Source:	The Business Standard

Reporter:	Virendra Singh Rawat

News ID:	22614

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Sugarcane farmers in Uttar Pradesh are yet to receive Rs 2,000 cr from various sugar mills in the state, even as the crushing season for this year has been completed several months ago.

Out of the total outstanding amount, payment of around Rs 1,600 crore is pending from the private mills’ end in the state.

The Yogi Adityanath-led BP government had, as part of its electoral campaign, promised settlement of arrears within a 14-day period during the UP assembly elections earlier this year.

State mills collectively owed Rs 25,386 crore to the region’s farmers. Out of this, payment to the tune of Rs 23,387 crore has already been cleared, leaving the outstanding amount to stand at Rs 2,000 crore.

Meanwhile, CM Adityanath on Monday reached the Saharanpur district to take stock of the law and order situation along the state’s border.

Addressing a public meeting in the district, Adityanath said he would ensure full arrear payment before the next crushing season.

He is will be headed to New Delhi after that and is slated to arrive at the national capital on Monday evening.

Earlier, the Adityanath government had issued fresh notices against erring mills and threatened them with recovery certificates (RC) for non-compliance in the matter. RCs authorise the state’s district cane officer to seize unsold stocks and other assets of the defaulting mill. Seized assets can then be sold via auction to settle farmers’ payments.

The industry, on its part, had met the CM in April and apprised him of their problems.

On April 20, a delegation from the UP Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) met CM Adityanath and submitted a memorandum, urging for a viable cane pricing and a revenue sharing formula in the state. This would insulate the sugar industry from pricing and cyclical fluctuations, opined the delegation.

The industry had also put forth the de-reservation of molasses, a sugar by-product, so that the mills’ profitability could increase and help speedier settlement of arrears.

In the recently concluded crushing season, UP had topped in domestic sugar production by clocking a record output of 8.75 million tonnes (MT) over last year’s figure of 6.82 MT. When compared to last year’s output, the state has clocked 40 per cent higher sugar production.

Currently, there are around 116 sugar mills within the state. Out of this, 91 mills belong to the private sector; 24 units belong to the cooperative sector; and the UP State Sugar Corporation Limited (UPSSCL) accounts for a single operational mill.

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