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UP sugar cane farmers demand Rs 320/325 a quintal
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Thursday, 14 October, 2010, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Our Bureau, New Delhi
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As the crushing season approaches, a confrontation between the sugar cane farmers and private millers are on the cards in Uttar Predesh. At a meeting of the committee formed under the chairmanship of UP cane commissioner Kamran Rizvi to fix the state advised price (SAP), the farmers have demanded Rs 320/325 a quinatal, whereas the millers categorically stated that they are no condition to pay anything beyond last year's SAP of Rs 165 per quintal. Incidentally, the fair and remunerative price (FRP) fixed by the Centre for the coming season is around Rs 129 per quintal.
"The cost of sugar cane production has gone up substantially to Rs 306 per quintal approximately this year. If a minimum 5% profit is given to the farmers, the SAP should be fixed at Rs 322 per quintal. If a lesser SAP is fixed, farmers would not supply cane to the mills, says a member of the committee formed to fix the SAP.
On the other hand, the sugar industry, represented by Indian Sugar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) was categorical that anything beyond Rs 165 would not be acceptable to it. "The industry has made huge losses last year and we are making huge losses on every quintal of sugar produced by us. The cost of sugar production is coming to Rs 3,600 a quintal, and we are making a loss of Rs 600 on every quintal," according to the representative of a sugar mill.
"The industry is not in a position to pat anything beyond Rs 150-155 per quintal of cane. But since last year's SAP was Rs 165 a quintal, we will not expect the farmers to settle for anything less than that," he added.
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