Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today disputed sugar industry body ISMA’s frequent downward revisions in sugar production estimates for 2016-17, saying the projections were misleading, that India had enough stocks and that imports are not required.
The Minister said the Food Ministry will take up the issue of sugar production forecast with the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA).
“Who has given the right to them (to forecast)? You cannot believe their production numbers. They are misleading the public and the industry by releasing wrong numbers. They should not be doing this,” said Paswan.
The frequent revision of sugar output estimates for the 2016-17 marketing year (October-September) puts in question the credibility of the industry body, he said.
“It is not fair to frequently revise the figures. We don’t know what logic they have behind this. All-farmers, mills and the trade get affected because of such numbers.”
Paswan said the ISMA has trimmed sugar production forecast to 20.3 mt for 2016-17, down from a previous projection of 21.3 mt made two months ago, and down from a September 2016 forecast of 23.4 mt. Last year, too, the industry body had initially projected the output at 28 mt and later revised it downward to 25.1 mt , he added.
’Enough stocks’
Urging the industry and public not to get misled by ISMA’s incorrect projections, Paswan said: “There is no shortage of sugar. We have enough stocks and imports are not required.”
The availability will be 29 mt this year, including the opening stock of 7.7 mt and likely production of 22.5 mt in the ongoing 2016-17 marketing year, he said, adding that this is sufficient to meet the the annual consumption of 24-25 mt .
“Even if we take into account ISMA’s production estimate of 20.3 mt , the availability will be 27.3 mt, which is sufficient to meet domestic demand,” he added. Asked if the import duty on raw sugar will be slashed from 40 per cent, he said: “There is no question of imports. The status quo will remain.”
Defending its data, ISMA President Sarita Reddy said: “There is nothing wrong with our data. ...We are not hiding any facts. Whatever data we have got from satellite images and different State associations, we have passed on to the government.”
The downward revision of sugar output to 20.3 mt for this year was mainly because of severe drought in some States, including Maharashtra, where sugarcane yields were hit badly, she said.
The country has sufficient stocks and imports may not be required, she added.