Photo has been used for representation only.
Sugar trade body AISTA on Wednesday demanded that the government should increase the minimum selling price of sugar as sugar is being sold in the country at prices below the cost of production.
The minimum selling price of sugar has been kept unchanged at ₹3,100 per quintal since 2019, even though the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane has been raised every year.
The All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA) has submitted a memorandum in this regard to Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra.
AISTA President Prafulla Vithalani said, “The price of sugar in Maharashtra and Karnataka during the November-March period of the current 2022-23 season was Rs 3,100-3,200 per quintal, which is 10% less than the cost of production.”
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He said the minimum selling price should be higher than the cost of production, which is between Rs 3,400 and Rs 3,600 per quintal.
In the representation, AISTA said that the government had increased the FRP of sugarcane in the last four sugar seasons (October-September), but there has been no corresponding increase in the minimum selling price.
“Hence, the government may consider increasing the minimum selling price of sugar, which will also encourage farmers to increase sugarcane plantation in the country.”
Besides this, the trade body has urged the government to extend the benefits of roadtape (Remission of duties, tax on export products) scheme for sugar.
Under the RODTEP scheme, duties and taxes on export products under ‘free category’ are remitted at a fixed rate only. Since sugar was kept in the ‘restricted’ category, traders are not getting its benefits at present.
AISTA said the benefit should be extended as sugar was put under ‘restricted category’ not because of shortage but to regulate exports. It added, “RoDTEP benefits to sugar should not be withdrawn due to technical reasons.”
India is the second largest sugar producer in the world after Brazil. The government has allowed export of 60 lakh tonnes in the current 2022-23 season.