New Delhi, Jan. 27 Sugar mills have told the Centre that the country would need to import only another 15-16 lakh tonnes (lt) of sugar to meet the current 2009-10 season's (October-September) consumption requirements along with ensuring the reasonable opening stock.
A delegation of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), which met the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, here on Wednesday, is understood to have conveyed that about 45 lt of raw as well as white sugar has been contracted so far this season, of which 25 lt have already arrived.
Of the balance 20 lt, roughly 7.5 lt have been loaded on to ships and are expected to reach Indian ports in the weeks to come. “We need to contract another 15-16 lt, which will not take place now because of high international prices. For fresh contracts to happen, either prices here would have to go up or we will have to wait till April-May, when global prices, too, may ease with mills in Brazil starting to crush”, an industry source told Business Line.
Supply to BPL families
The ISMA delegation, comprising Mr Vivek Saraogi of Balrampur Chini Mills, Mr Narendra Murkumbi of Shree Renuka Sugars, Mr C.S. Nopany of the K.K. Birla Group, and the Secretary-General of the Association, Mr M.N. Rao, met the Prime Minister in the presence of the Union Food and Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar. “We told the Prime Minister that our mills this year would be paying cane farmers roughly Rs 250 a quintal, which is way above the Centre's fair and remunerative price (FRP) of Rs 129. As a result, farmers will receive an extra Rs 19,000 crore, which has been possible only because of the current sugar prices”, said Mr Saraogi, who is ISMA President.
Besides, the industry would also be supplying 20 per cent of its output to the below poverty line population at half of the production cost, he claimed. “Our production cost of sugar this year would be Rs 33-34 a kg, whereas the levy prices computed against the FRP would be Rs 17 or so. Given that we are meeting our social obligations to both cane farmers as well as poor consumers, there is no reason to control sugar prices artificially to benefit soft drinks and confectionary manufacturers”, Mr Saraogi added.
The delegation also sought the Centre's permission to allow mills to sell the raw sugar imported by them outright. The Centre had recently allowed mills in Uttar Pradesh to get their imported raws processed by mills in other States. This was in view of restrictions imposed by the UP Government on the entry of raw sugar into the State.
“The latest relaxation of the actual user condition governing raw imports covers only processing. Some mills want to sell the raws outright rather than getting it processed by other mills that would entail complex revenue sharing arrangements”, the sources noted.
Source : Business Line