Sugar mills yet to clear Rs 10,200 crore dues of cane growers

NEW DELHI: Over Rs 10,200 crore dues of sugarcane growers were pending with sugar mills till mid March this year, Food Minister K V Thomas has said.

"As on March 15, 2012, cane price arrears amounting to Rs 10,239.98 crore are outstanding," Thomas said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.

The minister, however, denied that the arrears were causing gradual decrease in sugarcane output.

He said sugarcane production has been increasing since 2008-09 onwards.

According to the third Advance Estimates of the government, sugarcane production pegged at 3,511 lakh tonnes.

The output was 3,423 lakh tonnes in 2010-11 and 2,923.02 lakh tonnes in 2009-10, according to data presented by the minister.

Replying to another question, he said the government has constituted a committee of experts to look into issues regarding decontrol of sugar industry.

The committee was constituted on January 1 this year under leadership of of C Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to Prime Minister, he said, adding it has been tasked to look into all the issues of deregulation of sugar sector.

Thomas said Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) and National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd (NFCSF) had appealed for the partial decontrolling of the sugar industry.