Regular Update
ATM News Network: India is the second largest country in sugar exports, and the country has earned foreign exchange worth 40 thousand crores from exports in the year 2020-21. Despite this, the sugar industry is facing major challenges. Sugarcane farmers, sugarcane cutters, factory workers are getting meagre remuneration.
As a solution to this, sugar expert's task force of Maharashtra has demanded that sugar should be given two-tiered rates as domestic and industrial. A statement has been sent to Union Home Minister and Cooperative Minister Amit Shah from Kriti Dal, a task force formed for finding solutions for issues of sugar industry.
According to a statement issued by Kriti Dal, India has a total of 732 established sugar mills, making the industry the number one in the world, surpassing Brazil. We are also the second largest country in the world in sugar exports, and the country has received foreign exchange worth 40 thousand crores in the year 2020-21 from the export of sugar.
During the sugar season 2021-22, sugar mills purchased sugarcane worth more than Rs.18 lakh crore. There are nearly five crore sugarcane producers in India and besides that, the small scale industries and labourers who are dependent on them are huge.
It is a successful model of cooperative movement which is the backbone of country's rural development and economic upliftment of farmers. Despite this, it is clear that the sugar industry is facing major challenges. Sugarcane farmers, sugarcane cutters, factory workers are getting meagre remuneration. Every year farmers have to do agitations to get FRP per acre.
This industry must become self-sustainable without central government subsidy. The economics of the factories are mainly linked to the price of sugar. For many years, the working group of sugar related industries has been demanding that a two-tier price system should be implemented for sugar.
A 15 members of Kriti Dal Sugar Core Committee has been established by the joint initiative of Dattaram Raskar, Chief Executive Officer of Srinath Mhasoba Sugar Factory, Sahebrao Khamkar, Founder-Chairman of Navdeep Social Foundation and Sahebrao Khamkar, Executive Director of Pratapgad and Theur Sugar Factory, Core Committee Preseident Engineer Satish Deshmukh and Core Committee Executive Director Anand Nikam.
The taskforce has also outlined the benefits of the two-tier rate system and measures for implementation. Copies of the statement have been given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, former Union Agriculture Minister and President of Sugar Association Sharad Pawar, Sugar Commissioner, ISMA Association and other concerned agencies and persons.
