Sugar decontrol proposal to be ready in 10 days: Pawar

Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today said a proposal for decontrolling the sugar sector will be ready in the next 10 days and moved to other ministries for consultation.

The sugar sector is under the government's control. The Food Ministry allocates the monthly quota that mills sell in the open market, as well as through ration shops. Besides that, mills are required to sell 20 per cent of their output to the government for distribution under the PDS.

"We are preparing a proposal which will be ready in 10 days. Then, we will seek views of different ministries," Pawar said when asked about decontrol of the sugar industry.

The minister said the monthly release mechanism and levy system could be the possible areas where decontrol will take place. However, he categorically stated that the Centre will keep fixing the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) -- the minimum price that mills pay to farmers for purchasing sugarcane.

Pawar said it would take another two-three months for the proposal to be placed before Cabinet, as by then, availability of cane and the likely production will be known.

Sugar production in the 2010-11 crop year (October-September) is expected to be more than the annual requirement of 23 million tonnes, he said. India is estimated to produce 18.5 million tonnes of the sweetener in the current sugar year (2009-10).

Last week, Pawar said that industry associations have been demanding decontrol and a decision on this could be taken if there is good production in the next crop year.

The minister had said the government will have estimates on sugarcane planting and sugar output in 2010-11 by the first week of September. "Based on the assessment, we will take a final decision (on decontrolling sugar sector) and recommend to the Cabinet. Till then, we will not recommend."

Noting that the next crop year would be a good year for both consumers and farmers, the minister said this would give him room to take some "drastic decisions" on the sugar sector.