Sugar decontrol decision after assessing cane output: Pawar

Food Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that any decision on decontrolling the sugar sector will be taken only after assessing the likely production for the next year and keeping the interest of the consumers in mind.

“I will collect the information about total production by the end of August. It (decontrolling the sugar sector) depends upon what is the area availability in the country. Then it will depend upon what is the production,” Pawar told mediamen on the sidelines of an ICAR function here.

At present, the government controls the sugar sector right from fixing the support price of cane to fixing the quantity of the sweetener to be sold in the open market every month.

“We don’t want to take any decision which will ultimately affect the consumers. We have to protect the interest of the consumers, farmers and industry all together,” Pawar added.

Indian Sugar Mills Association (Isma) and the National Federation of Co-operative Sugar Factories (NFCSF), two bodies representing the sector, have been urging the government to do away with the monthly release mechanism, procure PDS sugar from the market and remove sugar from the purview of Essential Commodities Act among others.

“We are open to discussions. I have requested NFCSF and Isma representatives that, if they want to communicate their views, certainly, we are ready to sit with them. I think tomorrow or day after, we are sitting, subject to discussion in Parliament,” Pawar said.

Pawar, however, had earlier this month said that the time was ripe for the government to give a serious thought to decontrolling the sugar industry in the wake of better prospects of sugar production in 2010-11 crop year.

Both the government and the industry feel that the country would produce more sugar next year than the estimated annual demand of 23 million tonnes. India, the world’s second largest producer of sugar and the biggest consumer, produced 18.8 million tonnes in 2009-10 crop year ending September.

However, the Food Ministry’s plan to decontrol the sector drew flak from some quarters, who believe that the move would escalate the price of the sweetener to over Rs 60 a kg.

Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Kanhaiyalal Gidwani had said yesterday that decontrolling sugar would only benefit commodity trading gamblers and hoarders as the Centre would have no powers to check the price and availability.