PUNE: After a month's delay, new sugar production is set to pick up pace across the country, the largest sugar consumer in the world. Accepting the cane price fixed by the state government, mills in Uttar Pradesh have decided to begin crushing like their counterparts in Maharashtra and Karnataka where there is no clarity on the cane price. 

 

New sugar, which is white in colour compared to the yellow old sugar, commands higher price in the market. As more mills start cane crushing, the price of new sugar will also come down. "The price of new sugar was Rs 30.50 a kg about a week ago. It has come down by about Rs 1.50 as more and more mills have started production," said Ashok Jain, president, Bombay Sugar Merchants' Association. Streamlining of sugar production will also help trade houses and exporters, who have signed contracts for raw sugar exports with delivery for December onward. 

 

After the Swabhimani Shetkari Sangathana (SSS) suspended its month-long agitation, sugar mills from the Kolhapur-Sangli region have joined the rest of the state to begin the crushing. A few mills from Kolhapur and Sangli have announced first advance of Rs 2,650 a tonne to Rs 2,700 to be paid in two tranches, a formula accepted by the SSS to withdraw its agitation. Some farmers' organisations like the Shetkari Sangathana headed by Raghunath Patil have not accepted this price. Sugar mills in the rest of the state have not yet announced any price. "We are waiting for the decision of the Centre," said SM Taware, managing director, Shri Chhatrapati SSK, Indapur, near Pune. 

UP sugar mills, which had observed a shutdown against high cane prices fixed by the state government, too have decided to begin operations. "Sugar industry in UP, at the initiative of the CM and in the larger interests of the farmers, announced commencement of cane crushing for season 2013-14 despite the operations being unviable at the current cane pricing," said a release from the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA). The state government has allowed the industry to make payment for sugarcane in two tranches - Rs 260 a quintal in the first andRs 20 a quintal later. The state government has also given a relief ofRs 11 per quintal by waiving entry tax, purchase tax and the society commission.