Combined sugarcane payment arrears to farmers hit all-time high in December

Last week, the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) proposed the government create a buffer stock of two mt

Combined sugarcane payment arrears to farmers in the country reached an all-time high at the end of last month, of Rs 95.76 billion. 

The earlier high was Rs 78.4 billion at end-December 2012. Of the arrears, Rs 39.4 billionwas to farmers in Uttar Pradesh. The comparative all-India figure at the end of 2016-17 (end-March) was Rs 95.26 billion.

The arrears could swell, as prices of sugar are falling, squeezing mills’ cash. The reason is the sharp upward revision in sugar production estimates, by 30 per cent for the current season to 26.1 million tonnes. According to the Indian Sugar Mills Association (Isma),