The Hindu Business Line : Sugar industry seeks price hike to support farmers

The South Indian Sugar Mills Association – Tamil Nadu (SISMA) has urged the Centre to take a realistic approach on sugar and sugarcane pricing to support farmers and avoid tinkering with the sugar import policy in the backdrop of the prevailing surplus sugar situation in the country.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Ms Rajshree Pathy, President, South Indian Sugar Mills Association – Tamil Nadu, said the Centre’s policy of micromanaging the sugar market to control prices while hiking sugarcane price every season has affected the ability of the sugar mills to pay the farmers.

The Centre should let the market forces determine sugar prices as this would be beneficial to the farmers, consumers and the industry in the long term.

Also, the policy makers have to guard against the emerging threat of sugar or raw sugar imports as commodity prices and freight rates drop in the international market. The export of sugar by the domestic mills under the Advance License Scheme should also be deferred to augment domestic availability.

Mr N. Ramanathan, Vice-President, SISMA, said there were adequate stocks and production in the pipeline to generate a surplus.

The opening stock of sugar for the ongoing season is 110 lakh tonnes (lt) and production is estimated at about 205 lt. With consumption at 225-230 lt a year the surplus would be about 80 lt.

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