- News>
- Economy
SC ruling against long term interests of sugar sector: Mills
New Delhi, May 05: Sugar industry today termed the Supreme Court order allowing states to fix sugarcane prices over and above the Statutory Minimium Price (SMP), as against the interests of the sector.
New Delhi, May 05: Sugar industry today termed the
Supreme Court order allowing states to fix sugarcane prices
over and above the Statutory Minimium Price (SMP), as against
the interests of the sector.
"To permit states to fix State Advised Price (SAP) above
the SMP fixed by the Centre is not in the long term interests
of the sugar industry. It is definitely a setback for us",
vice chairman, Dhampur Sugar Mills Ashok Kumar Goel told.
He said the average cane price being paid by the private mills in Uttar Pradesh was Rs 85-86 per quintal based on the SMP of Rs 73 a quintal for 2003-04 linked to the basic recovery of 8.5 per cent sugar from cane. Against this, the SAP in Uttar Pradesh in 2002-03 was Rs 95 a quintal while this year the state government had not fixed any price in line with an order of the Allahabad High Court.
Millers contend that today's apex court judgement will lead "back to square one" and a large additional burden will have to be borne by them in view of the much higher sap and states' tendency to hike it on an arbitrary basis every year. Mills in North India, particularly Uttar Pradesh, will be the most affected, managing director, National Federation of Cooperative Sugar factories Vinay Kumar said.
He termed it as a landmark judgement but said mills in Maharashtra are run as cooperatives and are not governed by the SAPs. In a 3:2 majority decision given by a five-judge constitution bench, the Supreme Court today upheld the power of the state governments to fix SAPs.
Bureau Report
He said the average cane price being paid by the private mills in Uttar Pradesh was Rs 85-86 per quintal based on the SMP of Rs 73 a quintal for 2003-04 linked to the basic recovery of 8.5 per cent sugar from cane. Against this, the SAP in Uttar Pradesh in 2002-03 was Rs 95 a quintal while this year the state government had not fixed any price in line with an order of the Allahabad High Court.
Millers contend that today's apex court judgement will lead "back to square one" and a large additional burden will have to be borne by them in view of the much higher sap and states' tendency to hike it on an arbitrary basis every year. Mills in North India, particularly Uttar Pradesh, will be the most affected, managing director, National Federation of Cooperative Sugar factories Vinay Kumar said.
He termed it as a landmark judgement but said mills in Maharashtra are run as cooperatives and are not governed by the SAPs. In a 3:2 majority decision given by a five-judge constitution bench, the Supreme Court today upheld the power of the state governments to fix SAPs.
Bureau Report