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Our Bureau

`Sugar production is expected at around 227 lakh tonnes'

New Delhi , Nov. 8

The Government is "seriously considering" taking a decision on lifting the current ban on sugar exports within the "coming two weeks", according to the Union Agriculture and Food Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar.

Speaking at the Economic Editors Conference here on Wednesday, Mr Pawar admitted "if we don't take a decision in appropriate time, it will affect the interests of farmers."

The Minister's comment comes as the country's largest cane and sugar-producing State — Uttar Pradesh (UP) — is headed for Assembly elections around February.

A decision on lifting the export ban, in place since July 4, has been on hold for weeks now, mainly due to differences between the Finance and Agriculture ministries. The Finance Ministry is keen on not allowing exports, fearing that it could impact domestic supply and hence push up prices. Mr Pawar, however, dismissed these concerns.

Sugar production

"Sugar production in the 2006-07 season (October-September) is expected at around 227 lakh tonnes (lt). We also have a carryover stock of 39-40 lt from the previous season. Against this, our domestic requirement would be only 190 lt. There is substantial availability of sugar," he pointed out.

Officials said the 227 lt estimate is based on a cane production of 330 million tonnes (mt), as per the Food Ministry's projection.

The Agriculture Ministry's estimate is, however, only 283 mt, which translates into a sugar output of less than 200 lt. And here again, it is UP that is the source of confusion. The Cane Commissioner there has projected cane production at 159 mt, which is 18 per cent more than the 134.68 mt in 2005-06. But the UP Agriculture Department says that cane production will be only 5 per cent higher this season.

"The latter estimate is based on crop-cutting experiments, which have tended to be far from reliable. The Cane Commissioner's figure is derived from actual cane area around mills, which is probably a more authentic method. Either way, the Finance Ministry has seized on the differing estimates of availability to push its case for going slow on exports," the officials added.

More Stories on : Agricultural Policy | Sugar | Exports & Imports

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