Indian sugar mills association

Sugar mills upset over hike in

Date:	16 Nov 2011

Source:

Reporter:

News ID:	692

Pdf:
Nlink:

New Delhi, November 15: Decrying the increase in cane state advised price (SAP) for 2011-12 announced recently by the Uttar Pradesh government, the sugar industry has claimed the move would prove detrimental for farmers and consumers alike.

ISMA, the apex industry body for private sugar mills, said Tuesday the move by the leading cane producing state would cause “havoc”, putting finances of mills under tremendous stress and adversely affecting their capacity of timely payment to farmers.

In the season of bailout requests by their counterparts in other businesses, the sugar industry also wants the government to step in for help. The industry claims that while cost of raw material, in this case SAP of sugarcane, increased by leaps and bounds, the government “artificially” kept price of final product- sugar- under control.

“Taking into consideration the average minimum cane price of Rs 245 per quintal in UP, the average cost of production of sugar in UP works out to Rs 34 per kg,” said ISMA director general Abinash Verma. The present ex-mill price of sugar in UP is around Rs 29 per kg.

If this price does not improve or the government keeps the prices down artificially through its powers to release monthly sugar quota that each mill is required to sell every month, it is feared that cane price arrears may build up sooner than expected, he adds.

The poll-bound UP government recently fixed SAP for the 2011-12 sugar season at Rs 250 per quintal for early varieties, Rs 240 for normal varieties and Rs 235 per quintal for rejected varieties.

News

Navigation