Is sugar Pawar-sensitive?

MUMBAI: Sugar prices are Sharad Pawar-sensitive, it’s been proved time and again. Within two days of the Maratha strongman claiming that sugar prices will be high for the next three years, sugar prices started defying gravity and reached Rs 45 per kg on Tuesday. Industry analysts believe prices will touch Rs 50 per kg soon.

“No one knows commodity market like Mr Pawar does. So it will be naive to believe that the price hike has nothing to do with Mr Pawar’s statement,” a top functionary of the state administration, handling the commodities, told ET.
This official cited a past instance when a statement by the agriculture minister triggered wheat prices to go through the roof. Then, Mr Pawar had talked about the Centre’s intention to import large quantities of wheat to meet the shortfall in domestic market.

Mr Pawar had talked about sugar prices while speaking at the 53rd annual general body meeting of the Maharashtra State Federation of Co-operative Sugar Factories (Sakhar Sangh) at Manjri-based Vasantdada Sugar Institute , near Pune on Sunday.

Mr Pawar also hinted at importing sugar as he said the government has decided to import 40 lakh tonne of raw sugar to meet the current shortfall and half of that has already arrived in the country. Expressing concern over reduced production of sugar in the country , Mr Pawar had advised sugarcane growers to adopt measures to increase their produce. “This hint is enough for traders handling this sensitive commodity ,” the official said.

Mr Pawar, in the same meeting, also blamed “incorrect information” about availability of sugarcane and likely sugar production for the crushing season 2009-10, provided by sugar factories and the state government to the Centre, for the present hike in sugar prices.

But a member of the sugar federation rubbished the statement. “This is absurd. There is an independent mechanism in place to keep track of overall area under sugarcane cultivation. Every sugarcane producing state has a separate set up to monitor the sector. So, blaming sugar cooperatives for wrong information is unfair .” “What these government agencies were doing? Why they didn’t crosscheck ?” he asked.