Mushrif said that his mill, like many others, had no other option. The Sugar Commissioner of Maharashtra, Shekhar Gaikwad, had issued orders on January 29 for the attachment of properties of 39 mills across the state for non-payment of FRP to farmers.
Pune: With payment arrears to cane growers during the current crushing season that started last October at over Rs 4,800 crore already, cash-strapped sugar mills in Maharashtra have come up with a new formula to address the problem. They will, henceforth, pay about 20 per cent of dues in the form of sugar. This means that for every tonne of cane supplied, mills will give 17 kg of sugar as “payment”.
“The FRP (fair and remunerative price) of cane fixed by the Centre for mills in our region (Sangli and Kolhapur districts of south Maharashtra) is Rs 2,800 per tonne, whereas the maximum we can afford to pay at current sugar realisations is Rs 2,300. So, we are now planning to pay the balance Rs 500 as sugar from our mills. Since ex-mill prices of sugar are now at Rs 29-29.5 per kg, that will work out to roughly 17 kg for every tonne of cane,” said Hasan Mushrif, NCP MLA from Kolhapur’s Kagal assembly segment, whose family controls the Sar Senapati Santaji Ghorpade Sugar Factory Ltd.
Mushrif said that his mill, like many others, had no other option. The Sugar Commissioner of Maharashtra, Shekhar Gaikwad, had issued orders on January 29 for the attachment of properties of 39 mills across the state for non-payment of FRP to farmers.
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