Media Release
Joint Press Release by Mr. A. Vellayan, President, ISMA
And
Mr. Kallappa Awade, President, NFCSF
New Delhi, 30th September, 2015
As Presidents of the apex Associations of the Indian sugar industry viz. Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) and National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd. (NFCSF), we welcome the steps being taken by the Government of India to help resolve the problems being faced by the sugarcane farmers and the sugar industry and to help them come out of the current financial crisis. The recent steps of the Government, which include increasing the demand for fuel ethanol to target for 10% blending with petrol, ensuring that the banks sanction and disburse the soft loan quickly, assisting the industry in their export initiative to achieve 4 million tons of sugar exports during 2015-16, should help in improving liquidity and in ensuring that sugar mills are better prepared to pay cane price to the farmers next sugar season.
2. ISMA and NFCSF would like to confirm that they would take necessary steps to ensure that maximum sugar exports take place in the next season. As a step in that direction, the private and cooperative sugar mills have jointly decided to start sugar exports through the sugar industry body, Indian Sugar Exim Corporation (ISEC), run by the two apex associations. It is hoped that this will kick start the export programme and, in turn, will help improve sentiments in the domestic market.
3. ISMA and NFCSF Ltd. are working shoulder to shoulder with the Government in solving the current crisis of the sugar industry and is not supporting any negative campaigns against the Government.