Mills have paid 44% of FRP due to farmers so far during 2017-18 crushing season
Mills in the Nanded region by far have the best record in payment with the 27 mills there paying 88 per cent of their dues. Express Mills in the Nanded region by far have the best record in payment with the 27 mills there paying 88 per cent of their dues. Express
A month since the start of the 2017-18 crushing season, sugar mills in the state have paid around 44 per cent of the total fair and remunerative price (FRP) due to the farmers. Of the Rs 1,578.47 crore payable to growers, mills till November 30 have paid Rs 693.04 crore, leaving Rs 963.02 crore as unpaid arrears.
At the start of the crushing season, farmers’ organisations had upped their demand for payment above the designated FRP of Rs 2,550 per tonne of cane. Mills in the Kolhapur region have agreed to pay Rs 200 above the FRP while those in the Solapur region have agreed to pay Rs 400 above the fixed price. Farmers’ bodies had demanded higher pay given the then bullish sentiments in the sugar market with the sweetener trading over Rs 3,500 per tonne during the start of the season.
Mills in the Nanded region by far have the best record in payment with the 27 mills in operation there paying 88 per cent of their dues. Kolhapur, Pune, Ahmednagar and Aurangabad region have recorded 45, 36, 23 and 62 per cent payment, respectively. The four private mills operational in the Nagpur region have paid only 6 per cent of their dues to the growers.
Meanwhile, millers have expressed serious concerns about the drop in sugar prices, which they say will affect their ability to pay the growers. Sanjay Khatal, managing director of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation, talked about how sugar prices have dropped significantly since the start of the crushing season. Also, the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank recently reduced the valuation of sugar from Rs 3,390 to Rs 3,270, which will make it difficult for mills to pay the growers upfront. External factors especially the decision of the Pakistan government to promote export subsidy to 15 lakh tonnes (lt) of sugar has further worried the sector.
Calling for an immediate removal of the stock limit on traders, Khatal said the government should step in to stop the further erosion of sugar prices. “Already, Philippines and Iran have banned the import of sugar and until steps like export incentives are given to the Indian millers, it will be difficult for us to pay the FRP,” he said.
Khatal also called for the creation of buffer stock to help stabilise the prices. With talks of a bumper crop in the offing, millers are apprehensive about a further drop in sugar prices.
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