Sugarcane arrears to farmers at 5-year low, govt data shows

This assumes significance as the amount of sugarcane procured in the 2021-22 season was “historically” high, according to the Government. During the 2020-21 seaon, mills procured sugarcane worth Rs 91,676 crore.

Subodh Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, attributed “the lowest level” in arrears to “record production of ethanol and export of sugar”.

“This is despite the historically record procurement — Rs 1.18 lakh crore — of sugarcane by mills in the country. The cane arrears are about Rs 6,000 crore, which is the lowest as compared to the arrears as on September 30 during the previous years. Apart from this, the Agriculture Ministry has improved varieties of sugarcane due to which yield and recovery have improved. Now, the recovery is about 11 per cent,” Singh told The Indian Express.

“The Government’s policies regarding sugarcane have been very stable. Now, we are surplus in sugar. Therefore, if the sugar stock is higher and does not get liquidated, then the sugar mills face problems in clearing dues to farmers. For this, the Government has launched an ethanol blending programme. Under this programme, last year (2020-21), sugarcane equal to about 22 lakh metric tonnes sugar was diverted for ethanol production, this time (2021-22), we have diverted about 35 lakh metric tonnes,” he said.

“Besides, there is…sugar export. Last year, about 70 lakh metric tonnes of sugar was exported, this year it is going to be about 112 lakh tonnes,” Singh said.

The data shows that the quantity of ethanol supply has increased to 302 crore litres during the supply year (2020-21, December to November) from 173 crore litres in 2019-20. Sugar exports have also increased in recent years — from 58.59 lakh metric tonnes in 2019-20 to 70 lakh metric tonnes in 2021-22. In the season 2021-22, sugar exports have already crossed the 109 lakh metric tonnes mark. This is the provisional figure which may go up when the final data is available.

However, while the overall sugarcane arrears have come down, it is still higher in states like Uttar Pradesh, the data show. In UP, out of the Rs 35,201 crore payable to farmers by mills during the 2021-22 season, Rs 31,258 crore has been paid, leaving arrears of Rs 3,943 crore (12.6 per cent), which is the highest across the country.

According to Food Ministry data, mills procured sugarcane worth Rs 33,023 crore in UP during the 2020-21 season, of which Rs 5,053 (15.30 per cent) remained unpaid at the end of the season on September 30, 2021.

Another state where the sugarcane dues are higher is Gujarat. In Gujarat, against the payable amount of Rs 3,891 crore during the 2021-22 season, Rs 2,892 crore has been paid to farmers, leaving arrears of Rs 1,035 crore (34.5 per cent).