A miller in Kolhapur said the reduction in prices was adopted to enable them to pay the farmers whose cane will come for crushing in the last few weeks of the season. “ (Express photo by Oinam Anand/File) A miller in Kolhapur said the reduction in prices was adopted to enable them to pay the farmers whose cane will come for crushing in the last few weeks of the season. “ (Express photo by Oinam Anand/File) Sugar millers and traders have called for long term policy-level decisions to maintain healthy sugar prices to enable them to pay cane growers. While the recent decision of controlled sales have firmed up the price of sugar, millers fear a slide once the moratorium of sales ends in April. On Tuesday, the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSC) Bank had revised its valuation of sugar by Rs 130 per quintal from the earlier valuation of Rs 2,970. This would be the sixth time the apex bank has changed the valuation of sugar since the start of the season in November. In the earlier five instances, the bank had reduced the valuations of sugar. Millers have been complaining of low sugar prices which have compromised their financial health and had subsequently led to default in payment to growers. Most of the mills have also slashed the first installment payment announced at the start of the season in view of the low sugar prices. The decision of the sugar millers to reduce the first installment payment had naturally not gone down well with growers with farmers’ organisations such as the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana taking to the streets against it. Sanghatana head MP Raju Shetti has also warned of further protests if mills did not revert to the promised payment. It might be remembered that even mills in Kolhapur, known for handsome payments to the growers, have reduced the first installment announced and are now paying Rs 2,500 per tonne. Since the imposition of controlled sales, which mandates sale of only 17 and 14 per cent of stock with mills for the months of February and March, respectively, sugar prices have firmed up by Rs 200-250 per quintal. Mukesh Kuvadia, secretary of the Bombay Sugar Merchant’s Association, said ex mill price in Maharashtra is between Rs 3,100 and Rs 3,200 at present. “This price is solely due to the artificial stoppage created in the market due to the sales restrictions. Once the restrictions are removed, prices might come tumbling down,” he said. This short-time price hike, the industry says, is not strong enough to let the mills pay the growers higher prices. Most millers have adopted a wait- and-watch policy in terms of payment as they fear a slide in the sugar prices. A miller in Kolhapur said the reduction in prices was adopted to enable them to pay the farmers whose cane will come for crushing in the last few weeks of the season. “If we continue to pay the first installment payment as declared at the start of the season, we will not be in a position to pay the later farmers,” he said. Both traders and millers now say a long term solution is necessary to deal this year’s crisis. Rohit Pawar, vice-president of the India Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), called for incentive for exports to deal with the glut. But Kuvadia was of the opinion that instead of export subsidy the government should incentivise sugar consuming industries to increase the domestic consumption of sugar. “That will be a permanent solution to the problem,” he said. For all the latest Pune News, download Indian Express App

Stay updated with all the Pune Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.