Maharashtra sugar industry for export of 2.5 mn tonnes

Pitches for buffer stock of 5 million tonnes

Maharashtra cooperative sugar industry, which is reeling under a financial crisis due to mismatch between the production cost and the realisation, has made a strong pitch for allowing exports of 2.5 million tonnes, imposition of 50 per cent import duty, creation of a buffer stock of five million tonnes, exclusion of sugar from the Essential Commodities Act and also from futures trading.

An industry delegation led by Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, chairman of the Federation of Cooperative Sugar Industry, which met state chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, also called upon the Centre to release, without further delays, Rs 100 crore of subsidy claims of exports pending since last three years. Mohite-Patil also insisted the Centre needs to cancel the sugar packaging and marketing order of 1970. Chavan agreed to lead a high-level delegation of state sugar industry on June 30 to take up these issues with the Prime Minister, the finance minister, the agriculture minister and minister of state for food.

Mohite-Patil told Business Standard, “The sugar industry is passing through rough weather. Due to a slide in sugar prices during the last three months a large number of mills are facing a problem of short margin on deficit of the order of Rs 1,277 crore. This may increase to Rs 1,500 crore. Therefore, the mills want the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSC Bank), on an approval from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, to start converting the short margin on deficit into working capital term loan for three years. Besides, the MSC Bank and the district central cooperative banks should provide pre-seasonal loan/short-term loan of Rs 963 crore. This is required from the next month, even though the next crushing season is going to start in October.” He also said the government needs to immediately simplify the procedures for export of molasses.

Mohite-Patil also sought the state government’s intervention for the release of subsidy for mechanised harvesting machines to be purchased by the mills. He said the government has proposed a subsidy of Rs 50 lakh per mill for purchasing such machines.