People's Democracy

REVISE SUGARCANE PRICE: AIKS

THE AIKS expressed its anguish at the plight of sugarcane growers in different parts of the country. The Statutory Minimum Price has been fixed at Rs 81.18 per quintal. The meagre increase of only 0.93 paise per quintal in the Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) from the last year's price of Rs 80.25 shows the callous and anti-farmers' attitude of the central government towards the farmers in general and sugarcane farmers in particular, stated K Varadharajan, AIKS general secretary in a statement issued on November 10.

The AIKS leader pointed out that in some states the mill-owners are refusing to pay the State Advices Price (SAP) which has to be added to SMP when the final payment is made to the cane-growers. In some areas the cane-growers are forced to sell the canes to the local crushers at an extremely low price of Rs 50 or 60 per quintal. In contrast to this thousands of crores of rupees are still lying as arrears with the sugar mill owners throughout the country, the statement noted.

The AIKS demanded from the central government:

1. To revise the price of sugarcane immediately. It should not be less than Rs 150 per quintal i.e., 1500 per metric tonne for this year.

2. While deciding the price of sugarcane the central government must take into consideration the increase in prices of inputs and the income to sugar mills from molasses, baggas, etc.,

3. Both SMP and SAP be made mandatory for the mills to pay to the cane-growers through a government's notification or through an amendment to Sugar Control Act, 1968.