No decision to decontrol sugar pricing: Pawar

The government has not taken any decision on the demand by industry to decontrol sugar pricing and remove the sweetener from the purview of Essential Commodities Act, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said today.

Indian Sugar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) and National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd (NFCSFL) have demanded decontrol of sugar, PDS sugar being procured from the open market and removal of the sweetener from purview of Essential Commodities Act, he said during Question Hour.

"The government has not taken a final view (on the demands)," he said.

ISMA and NFCSFL had also demanded that sugarcane price be related to realisation from sugar and direct realisation from by-product on a suitable formula and sugar be decontrolled and release mechanism be dispensed with.

Further there should be no stock holding limits on trade or bulk consumers, they had demanded. "The proposal of the sugar industry and the proposal relating to deregulating sugar industry is to be discussed with all concerned ministries," he said.

"The government will take appropriate decision in the matter after taking into consideration all aspects of decontrol of sugar including its availability, price situation, its impact on cane growers, impact on consumers of sugar and distribution of sugar through the Public Distribution System (PDS)," he added.

Pawar said the Central Government has been fixing the Statutory Minimum Price of sugarcane for each sugar season on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices after consulting the state governments and associations of sugar industry and cane growers.

"The Sugarcane (Control) Order 1966 was amended on October 22, 2009 by inserting a clause which provides for giving reasonable margins to the growers of sugarcane and powers to the Central Government to determine a fair and remunerative price," he added.