Bailout package not likely for sugar sector

CM says no industry should depend on govt aid for survival.

sugarcane, devendra fadnavis, Maharashtra CM, sugar sector

It is estimated that this year the sugar sector will see defaults to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore in terms of payment to farmers and others.

In what could come as a dampener for the sugar industry, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Saturday hinted that the state government might not bail out the sector with financial packages. Speaking at the annual general body meeting of the Vasantdada Sugar Institute in Pune Saturday, he said “no industry can survive with the help of the government” alone.

Former Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, who spoke before Fadnavis on the occasion, had in fact made a strong case for the government to bail out the sector. It is estimated that this year the sugar sector will see defaults to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore in terms of payment to farmers and others.

Talking about government intervention, Fadnavis said the state government would hold a meeting of all stakeholders next week to come up with a solution. Negating any direct intervention in terms of packages, the CM said the government could help the industry stand on its feet by assisting it in increasing productivity and efficiency. “Our planning, henceforth, should be long term and we should look forward to the next 5-10 years. We need to anticipate the industry and accordingly make the plans,” he said.

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Fadnavis said the cooperative sector should embrace new technology and should experiment with the build, own, transfer technique for modernisation.

In his speech, Pawar said every sugar factory in the state was facing a shortfall of Rs 700 per tonne while paying the FRP. “The cost of production has gone up but the price of sugar has come down. Due to the drastic drop in the price of sugar, financial institutions are not ready to give loans to the factories ,” he said.
Pawar said the sector contributed taxes to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore and the government should bail it out. He also said the cooperative sugar mills faced a shortfall of Rs 800 crore to pay the FRP to farmers. The total unsold stock for this year, he said, might rise to the tune of 20 lakh metric tonnes.

Pankaja Munde’s organisation holds protest

The federation of sugarcane cutters held an impromptu agitation Saturday to demand for a new wage agreement. Oosh Thod Kamgar Mazoor and Mukadam Sangstha, the umbrella organisation of sugarcane cutters, had come to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to present their charter of demand. Shrirang Bhange, president of the body, said their organisation led by state cabinet minister Pankaja Munde had been asking for a new wage agreement as the last one had lapsed in 2013-14. “It was promised to us that we will be getting a new wage agreement but that has not happened and the present season is almost over,” he said. BJP MLA from Keij Sangita Thombare was present when Pawar and Fadnavis met Saturday.

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