Undeterred by the Allahabad High Court order dismissing the writ petition filed by the Western UP Sugar Mills Association challenging the state advised price (SAP) for sugarcane fixed by the Uttar Pradesh government, the Indian Sugar Millers Association (ISMA) has decided to move the Supreme Court on the issue.
According to experts in the sugar sector, while crushing for the current season is already in full swing and payment will be made on the basis of the HC judgement, the move to knock on the Apex court is backed by the reasoning that a mechanism has to be found for fixing cane price in order to make the sector economically balanced in the coming years.
?While the Centre has fixed Rs 81.18 per quintal SMP for the 08-09 crushing season, the UP government has fixed Rs 140 as SAP. How could there be such a big difference between the two? Some methodology has to be found to bring about parity in the cane pricing for the sector to survive healthily,? says GSC Rao, executive director of Simbhaoli Sugar Mills.
According to Rao, the appeal in the SC is in fact an attempt to get the Apex court to suggest a methodology in which the pricing can be controlled in the future. ?At an average 8.5-9% recovery and the cost of finished sugar coming to Rs 2,200 per quintal, it is becoming extremely difficult for the millers to pay the SAP to the farmers,? he says.
Sanjay Tapriya, director at Simbhaoli Sugars, too feels that the move to knock on the SC doors is not only essential and also technically needed for if the pricing mechanism is not settled; the ultimate sufferer will be the farmer.
?While the UP government has announced the current SAP of 140, a hike of Rs 30 over last year?s Rs 110, for the benefit of the farmers, the government has to realise that such a huge jump in cane payment is not possible unless there is a corresponding increase in the price of finished sugar too. At this rate, non-realisation of cane dues will only increase and ultimately, the farmers will suffer again,? he says.
According to experts, while the prices of all edible products have gone up by many times, sugar prices have remained the same. ?There is an urgent need to hike the price of sugar. If the government wants the farmers to be paid well, it has to pass on the hike to the end consumers,? said an industry official, requesting anonymity, adding that the hiked prices would not only make things unviable for the industry but also for the farmers.
However, while millers seem to be thinking about ways to fight the hike in SAP, farmers, led by BM Singh, convenor of Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan, who has been spearheading the farmers? agitation for better price recovery, are elated. ?It is a big win for us. Let the millers go to the SC and press for their demand to reduce the SAP. We too, will fight them tooth and nail and expose how they are fooling everyone by saying that they are incurring loss due to the hike in price of cane, he says.