Making a case for freeing the sugar sector from government controls, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today met the Prime Minister to apprise him about the proposed move to give freedom to mills for sale of the sweetener.
At present, the government controls the sugar industry by fixing the quantity of the sweetener that mills would sell in the open market as well as through ration shops each month.
With expectations of bumper production from next season starting October, the Ministry is planning to decontrol the sector.
According to sources, Pawar made a presentation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about the way the Food Ministry is planning to ease controls on the sugar industry.
The issue of the Supreme Court's latest order on free distribution of foodgrains to the poor instead of allowing it to rot might have figured during the meeting, they said.
The minister also discussed in detail how withdrawal of curbs on the sugar sector would benefit consumers and farmers, sources said.
In the presentation, sources said, the ministry is understood to have proposed to do away with the system to fix the monthly quota of sugar for sale in open market and PDS.
To meet the requirement of sugar for ration shops, the ministry has suggested to buy sugar from the open market. At present, mills are obligated to sell 20 per cent of their produce to the government for distribution through PDS.
It has also suggested that farmers should be given freedom to sell their produce. Currently, growers can sell sugarcane to designated mills only, sources said.
Last month, Pawar had said the ministry is preparing a proposal for decontrol of sector, which would be sent to various ministries for their views before taking it to Cabinet.
He had made it clear that the government would continue to fix the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane to protect the farmers interest. FRP is the minimum price that mills have to pay to procure cane.
