Click to play videoMumbai: Hike in sugar prices has created trouble not only for farmers but also for traders and business establishments. Sugar rates has almost doubled across the country and it may get worse. It is because import rates are much higher than the rates at which India exports.
"We don't get the right price for our crops. We're always on the receiving end. Even after spending so much money on the crop we end up waiting for 13-14 months for our turn at the sugar factory," said Bappu Chougule, a sugarcane farmer.
In 2008-09, India produced only 145 lakh tonnes of sugar against 283 lakh tonnes in 2006-07. No surprise then that the amount of sugar arriving in wholesale markets like Navi Mumbai has fallen drastically.
"What was Rs 17 to Rs 18 in January now costs Rs 34 to Rs 37. Our margins have drastically shrunk. The overall investments have increased and the size of trade too has fallen," said a sugar trader, LD Bhanushali.
The Government's solution to the crisis has only worsened the problems - exporting sugar close to 1 lakh tonne at zero duty levy that worked out to Rs 12 to Rs 14 rate for a kilo. The resulting deficit now forces the Government to import sugar at a much higher rate of Rs 27.
"The overall rainfall has been a huge reason for depleting crops and the product prices even in world markets have skyrocketed" said Union Agricultural Minister Sharad Pawar.
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