Sugar mills owed Rs 8,409 cr to cane growers till Feb

Sugar mills owed Rs 8,409 crore to sugarcane growers till February of the 2011-12 marketing year, Parliament was informed today.

The total price payable by mills for sugarcane purchased from farmers till February of this marketing year (October-September) stood at Rs 35,701.89 crore, as per the data placed by the Food Minister KV Thomas in the Rajya Sabha.

Out of the total sugarcane arrears of Rs 8,409.62 crore, Uttar Pradesh -- the country's second-largest producing state -- accounted for about 50%.

State-wise, UP millers had to pay Rs 4,293.07 crore to cane growers till February, followed by Karnataka at Rs 1,364 crore, Andhra Pradesh at Rs 579.8 crore and Maharashtra at Rs 463.42 crore.

The millers of Tamil Nadu owed Rs 423.95 crore and those of Gujarat owed Rs 358.94 crore to sugarcane growers, the data showed.

As per the Sugarcane (Control) Order, sugar mills should make payment to farmers within 14 days of delivery, failing which interest at the rate of 15% a year on the amount due needs to be paid for the delayed period.

Sugar output of India, the world's second-largest producer and biggest consumer, is expected to be 25.2 million tonne in 2011-12, higher than the annual demand of 22 million tonne.