Chennai
Talking to DTNext, he said this would lead to the state government lacking surplus sugar to meet emergencies. “The government may even be forced to import sugar if this trend continues” he added. Concurring, Nellikuppam Kothandaraman, an expert in sugar related issues, said the sugar crisis was due to a shortfall in production of sugar to the tune of 40 lakh tonne in Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Vimalnathan said that a delegation met and represented the problems faced by the sugar industry in Tamil Nadu to state agriculture minister R Doraikannu recently. “The latter promised to take up the issue with the Chief Minister,” he added.
While the 18 government and cooperative sugar mills have sanctioned both the central government fixed FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price) and the state government’s SAP, the 25 private sugar mills have refused. “The latter’s payment amounts to Rs.1500 crore,” official sources added.
The non-payment of SAP has forced Cauvery delta farmers to shift to black gram, maize, gingelly and ground nut cultivation to keep the wolf from the door. The situation has resulted in shrinkage of cane area from the earlier 12,000 acres per mill to around 7,800 acres now. This in turn has resulted in sugar production dwindling over the years.
The production quantum which was 255 lakh metric tonnes (MT) in 2011-12 slipped to 215 lakh MT in 201213, 156 lakh MT in 2013-14 and 140.70 lakh MT in 2014-15. The current year’s production is expected to be around 140 or 145 lakh MT.
“Increasing annual reduction in sugar production by around 40 lakh MT could soon affect the state” official sources felt. While clause 3A of the central government’s Sugarcane Control Order 1966 ensures payment of FRP to cane farmers within 14 days of supply to the mill, there is no such order for SAP in the state. Vimalnathan said, “if the TN government could pass an act similar to the Karnataka Sugarcane Purchase Regulation Act, it will enable us to address the issue legally.”
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