No decision on sugarcane SAP by govt yet, crushing advanced to first week of November

FARMERS DEMANDING HIKE IN STATE ADVISORY PRICES TO ₹400 PER QUINTAL FOLLOWING AN INCREASE IN THE PRICES OF SUGAR

KARNAL: With less than a month left in crushing operations to start in the sugarmills of the state, the state government has failed to announce the state advisory prices (SAP) of the cane crop for the year 2017-18.

However, the sources said that Sugarcane Control Board has already held a meeting on October 13 and decided to advance the crushing operations from third week of November to first week of November. But there was no discussion about the SAP and now the board has left the decision about the SAP on the state agriculture minister, OP Dhankar.

Talking to HT, additional cane commissioner to Haryana agriculture department, JS Barar, said that the agriculture minister will be taking the final decision over the SAP but the Board has decided to advance the crushing operations in all cooperative and private sugarmills of the state from the first week of November.

He said that the decision to advance the crushing has been taken following an increase in the acreage under the sugarcane crop. “The directions have been issued to all the mills to start the crushing operations from the first week and the mills will start operations as per the schedule”, he added. Hoeever, farmers are demanding the government to increase the SAP to Rs 400 per quintal following an increase in the prices of sugar.

“We are demanding the hike as the prices of sugar are above Rs 40 a kg and all the sugarmills are earning profit and the government should also protect the interests of the farmers”, Haryana Bhartiya Kisan Union chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni said.

He also accused the BJP governmentof neglecting farmers, saying, “in the past three years, since the BJP government to power it has as yet announced only a 10 rupee increase in the prices of sugarcane and in this fourth year, the government should at least increase the SAP as per the increase in the production cost”. PVT MILLS RELUCTANT TO ADVANCE CRUSHING

The private sugarmills seem reluctant to follow the directions of government to advance the crushing operations as sources said that mills fear fall in the recovery of sugar, if they advance the crushing operations.

This may create problems for the farmers bound with these mills as the delay will affect the sowing of wheat crop.

Karam Singh, cane advisor to Piccadily Sugar Mill in Karnal said they have not received the orders yet, but they will follow the government’s directions.