Sugar production may fall short of target; mills clear 88 pc payment despite hurdles

In spite of these hiccups, mills have been fairly regular with their payments. State mills have cleared 88 per cent of the Rs 15,166 crore they had to pay as cane dues.

Till February 6, the sugar commissioner’s office has received payment details from 202 mills in operation. Mills had crushed 635 lakh tonne of cane and for this, they had to pay farmers a total of Rs 15,166 crore. Of this, Rs 13,276 crore has been paid to farmers, while Rs 2,297 crore is pending.

Of the 202 mills that are operational, 76 have cleared 100 per cent of their payment while 126 mills will have to pay arrears. Millers, however, said the reduction in sugar production is not the only issue they had to face this season.

While ex-mill sugar prices have stagnated between Rs 3,100 and Rs 3,200/quintal, the decision of the central government not to provide additional export quota has hurt the cash flow of mills.

“If mills were allowed to export 20 lakh tonnes more, the payment situation would have been much better,”said a miller from Marathwada.

With the temperature getting warmer, farmers in Solapur and Marathwada have also expressed concern about the fate of their standing crop. Efforts are being made to ensure easy availability of water till the season lasts and the crop doesn’t dry up.