The Hindu : Business : Right time to decide on sugar export: Sharad Pawar

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Thursday, Dec 14, 2006
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Right time to decide on sugar export: Sharad Pawar

Special Correspondent

Sugar output likely to touch 22.7 million tonnes this year

— Photo: S. Subramanium

TICKLISH ISSUE: Union Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar (left), with the President, Indian Sugar Mills Association, Chandra Shekhar Nopany, at the 72nd annual general meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Union Agriculture and Food Minister Sharad Pawar on Thursday did not hold out any promise to the Indian Sugar Mills Association on lifting the temporary ban imposed on the export of the commodity in his inaugural address at its 72nd annual general meeting, but speaking to mediapersons later he said this was the right time to take a decision on it.

"I have taken stock of sugar output estimates and this is the proper time to take a decision on the sugar export ban,'' he said. The ban was imposed in July to contain sugar prices. The Food Ministry's proposal to lift the ban is pending approval of the Union Cabinet.

Mr. Pawar said sugar output this year was expected to be about 227 lakh tonnes, although the industry expects it to be between 230 and 235 lakh tonnes.

The Minister said he expected wheat production to be around 74 million tonnes this year based on the higher acreage, the good weather so far and the forecast of a favourable weather around harvest. There was no proposal to impose duty on wheat imports by private players as the government had to first strengthen its stocks for the public distribution system.

On the demand from ISMA for decontrol of sugar, lifting of ban on sugar exports and increasing the distance for setting up of new units from 15 km to 25 km, Mr. Pawar asked the industry to analyse these issues themselves and come up with concrete suggestions in a report. Farmers must get proper price for sugarcane, he asserted, adding that the industry must take interest in enhancing productivity, sugar recovery and judicious use of water.

He said the industry had the potential to generate 7,000 MW of power and 1.3 billion litre of petrol, the requirement for which would further go up next year as the government intended to increase to 10 per cent the doping of ethanol with petrol as against five per cent at present.

Earlier Vice-President of ISMA Ramababu lamented the delay in lifting the ban on sugar exports, saying that it had cost the industry nearly Rs. 400 crore as international sugar prices had jumped up in the meantime.

The industry would have exported about 2.5 million tonnes of sugar including the re-export obligation of 1.5 million tonnes of processed raw sugar. With higher estimates of sugar output this season, the country would have a surplus of about four million tonnes. Once the ban is lifted, the industry would seek transport and freight subsidy to bail it out.

Outgoing ISMA President Chandra Shekhar Nopany said there was no justification in imposing export ban as the sugar prices were "by and large stable'' and had only registered a normal increase due to the highest ever payment of cane prices to farmers.

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