Maharashtra Government Opposes Sugar Export Quota
Mumbai, 18th October 2022: States like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu have strongly opposed the Centre’s proposed policy of implementing a quota system instead of the current open sugar export policy due to pressure from private sugar millers in Uttar Pradesh. The Shinde-Fadnavis government in the state has strongly opposed the quota system and has directed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah to implement the current open export policy.
To provide relief to the sugar industry, which has been in crisis for the last four years, the central government announced an open sugar export policy in the country for the previous fall season i.e. 2021-22. Due to the increasing demand for sugar worldwide, 112 lakh metric tonnes of sugar were exported from the country during this period. Maharashtra’s share was 70 lakh metric tonnes. The country got about 35 thousand crores of foreign exchange from the export of sugar, and the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu exported a large amount of sugar, which benefited Uttar Pradesh as domestic sugar with a good price. As a result, for the first time in the state, farmers have been given the right and profitable rate (FRP) of sugarcane at 98 percent. Therefore, for this year’s galap season (2022-23), the demand to implement the current open export policy is getting stronger from the western states.
Under the pressure of the Indian Sugar Mills Association, which is dominated by private sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh, the current policy is being stopped and the cooperative sugar mills are alleging that it has the support of some central officials. Due to the quota system, all the factories in the country will get a quota for sugar export, and the biggest impact will be on the sugar industry in the state.
According to this policy, factories in Uttar Pradesh are likely to get more quotas, and these factories are more likely to earn commission by selling that quota to other factories without exporting sugar. Meanwhile, there will be a limit on the exports of factories in the state. These factories will have to buy the quota of factories in Uttar Pradesh to export their sugar. As a result, despite not exporting sugar, the factories there will get crores of rupees through commission, and the factories in the state will be affected.
State Cooperative Sugar Factory Federation (Sugar Sangh), in a letter to the state government, fears that if sugar is not exported from the state before April, that is before sugar from Brazil and Thailand enters the international market, the sugar industry will be in crisis. It will affect the fair and remunerative price (FRP) of sugarcane to be paid to the farmers.
Union Minister Narayan Rane, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have sent letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, along with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal opposing the proposed policy of the Centre. According to sources, the Prime Minister has been requested, in this letter, to extend the current policy for this season and not to implement the quota system, which will expire at the end of October.
