Bihar millers to keep sugarcane prices unchanged

After sugar mill owners' reluctance on raising sugarcane prices, the state government has announced a bonus of Rs 5 per quintal to the sugarcane farmers. After the resolution, mills have decided to start crushing by the end of this month.

The rates were fixed after a series of meetings between officials and association members, which culminated on Wednesday with a final meeting chaired by the Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi himself. In the meeting, the state government finally nodded on keeping the rates unchanged. For the coming crushing season, the sugar mills in Bihar would pay Rs 245 per quintal for the low variety, Rs 255 per quintal for the normal and Rs. 265 per quintal for the premium varieties of the sugarcane. However, as a measure of relief, the state government has announced a bonus of Rs 5 per quintal to the farmers.

"Millers wanted a lower price this year, claiming huge losses due to fall in the sugar prices. We accept that they indeed had to face some difficult times. However, we asked them to maintain the price and assured them that their demands will be looked after," said one of the officials present in the meeting. He also added that the state government has decided to relax some of the sugar related taxes, which would help them in reducing their cost of production.

Earlier, the Bihar Sugar Mills Association had asked for a cash subsidy of Rs 30 per quintal for the cane farmers, underlining the huge losses mills incurred last year due to the fall in the sugar prices and the recovery rate. "Sugar prices in the state have come down to Rs 300 per quintal in last one year. However, after the assurances on tax rebates and request of the state government, we decided not to change the price," said Bihar Sugar Mills Association Secretary Naresh Bhatt.

The prices are, still, lower than that of neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, which paid Rs. 275-290 per quintal during last crushing season. At present, Bihar has dozen operational sugar mills with a total crushing capacity of 60,000 tonnes per day (TCD) and a total cane production of 6-7 crore tonnes. These mills produced almost 6 lakh tonnes of sugar last year and expect a 10-15 percent increase in the current crushing season.