Sugar industry seeks bailout package; writes to UP CM

LUCKNOW: UP Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) has asked chief minister Yogi Adityanath to bail out the industry by sanctioning a cash subsidy for sugar mills facing cash-flow crisis because of operating continuously despite lockdown in view of Covid-19 pandemic

In a two-page letter to CM, UPSMA president CB Patodia sought a bailout package for the largest industry in the state with whom millions of people are directly connected.

Patodia wrote that while the governments are doing their best towards the containment of Covid-19 virus, the sugar industry has been doing its best to assist the government in its efforts.

The most major effort has been to keep the sugar plants running to keep the interest of cane farmers.

The UPSMA also highlighted the fact that lockdown has brought considerable hardship to the sugar industry as it has to other industries.

“With various activities like confectionery, sweets, chocolates, aerated drinks and others coming to halt, most of the institutional sale of sugar is lost. The demand for sugar has been the lowest in decades. As a direct consequence, most of the mills are unable to sell even their monthly quota and have been compelled to store sugar in the open as they have run out of storage spaces. With low market sentiments and fallen sugar prices in the market, the mills are finding it hard to sell sugar even at the minimum sale price (MSP) fixed by the government,” wrote Patodia, in a letter dated May 8.

Patodia said the sugar factories endeavoured to follow the cane payment cycle to farmers as far as possible but now they are finding it extremely difficult to meet the cane price payment obligation further.

“We look upon you and your government to bail out the industry, by way of a cash subsidy, which shall help augment our cash flows, so that, cane crushing operations and cane payments continue,” wrote the UPSMA president.