Paswan says mills, farmers want sugar buffer stock

Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the common demand of sugar millers, cane farmers and state governments, after two days of deliberations on the sector, is creation of a buffer stock of a tenth of annual output.

He didn’t give a clear reply as to whether such a buffer would be created but officials said the option could be explored.

Mills' sugarcane arrears’payments to growers have topped a combined Rs 19,000 crore. Paswan spoke to reporters after chairing a meeting of ministers and representatives of cane producing states, a two-day exercise to understand the sector's problems.

“We would study the demands internally and then apprise the Prime Minister’s Office of the demands and find a possible solution,” Paswan said.

On Wednesday, the minister had said he was in the process of recommending an increase in the import duty on sugar from the current 25 per cent, to 40 per cent for a stop to imports.

On Thursday, representatives from state governments largely reiterated the same demands, pressed at Wednesday's meeting with farmer leaders.  These include, apart from a buffer stock, direct production of ethanol from molasses, encouragement for ethanol production, re-imposition of the government-controlled release order mechanism and extension of tenure of interest-free loans from five to seven years.  

Officials and ministers from 11 cane producing states participated. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Social Justice Minister Maneka Gandhi and minister of state for agriculture Sanjeev Balyan were present.

Country output at 8-year high

Sugar output in India, the world’s biggest producer after Brazil, will climb to the highest level since 2007 as cane yields increase, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (Isma) said on Thursday.

Production might total a little over 27 million tonnes in the year that began on October 1, it said. That would be the highest since 2006-07 and compares with 24.4 mt last season. Output had jumped 14 per cent to 26.4 mt by April 15, it said.

“Higher cane yields in Maharashtra and an increase in sugar recovery in Uttar Pradesh are helping production,” Abinash Verma, director general of Isma, said by phone  on Thursday.