Months after the end of the 2015-16 sugar season, cane growers are still to get full payment of the fair and remunerative price (FRP) due to them. Millers still owe farmers around R413 crore in FRP dues, with around 64 of the 177 factories clearing 100% of the payment to farmers.
As on July 31, 2016, the government has managed to recover over 97.64 % in arrears from the mills that are owed to farmers, while around 2.3% of the mills in the state still owe farmers arrears, Vipin Sharma, Maharashtra sugar commissioner said. For the season of 2015-16, mills owed farmers some R16,469.7 crore, of which there has been a recovery to the tune of R16,082 crore, he said. Of the R413 crore in dues, 12 mills owe R166 crore to farmers and have paid less than 95% in FRP payments, and another 12 mills R246 crore, which is more than 95% of the total quantum of FRP dues, he said. The commssionerate has issued revenue and recovery certificate (RRC) orders against 12 factories that have paid less than 95% dues for the season and another 12 mills have been summoned for hearings on Thursday. Sharma said the government will now attempt to get the full payment from mills and had therefore called for hearings from the errant millers.
Maharashtra, which contributes a third of the country’s sugar production, is likely to see a 50 % drop in its output during crushing season 2016-17 that begins in October. Preliminary estimates by the Maharashtra State Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories that were released earlier say that the state is likely to produce of 45-50 lakh tonne in 2016-17, against 84 lakh tonne in 2015-16, and 105 lakh tonne in 2014-15. The fall is attributed to drought in cane-growing districts.
The Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) expects a national output of 232.6 lakh tonne of sugar this season, down from 251 lakh tonne in 2015-16. In Maharashtra, sugarcane was grown on around 10 lakh hectares in 2015-16. In the current season, acreage under sugar cane has shrunk to 780,000 hectares and ISMA estimates that Maharashtra’s sugar yield in 2016-17 will be around 61 lakh tonne, against 84 lakh tonne in 2015-16. Uttar Pradesh, according to ISMA satellite surveys, has grown sugarcane on 23 lakh hectares, which represents a marginal increase over the 2015-16 acreage . The drought is likely to cut sugar output by 50% in Maharashtra, Sanjiv Babar, MD of the federation, had earlier told FE. At least 40 cooperative factories from drought-hit districts won’t be in a position to operate, for want of cane, he had said. In 2015-16, as many as 176 factories, 99 cooperative and 77 private ones, took part in the crushing season. Sharma maintained the commissionerate has not released any estimates since it depends on government data, which is likely to be released by September. Sowing operations are still in progress and the commssionerate has held a couple of meetings with the department of agriculture, though no data has been released yet.
ISMA and the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories have estimated India’s sugar production in 2016-17 at 235 lakh tonne, against 252 lakh tonne in 2015-16. The projected output will be the lowest since the 189 lakh tonne for 2009-10.