Former Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar joined hands with the Maharashtra cooperation minister Chandrakant Patil to lead a delegation to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on the issues of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) payment to sugarcane farmers.
According to ISMA estimates around a quarter of mills across the country could go into negative networth and may not be able to crush cane next season. In Maharashtra over 80 mills stare the prospects of sliding into negative networth.
Other members of the delegation included Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, chairman, Mahartashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation (MSCSFF) Narendra Murkhumbi, chairman, Shree Renuka Sugars, Abhinash Verma, director general, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA).
According to Chandrakant Patil as told to Financial Express the millers cannot afford to pay FRP at the existing price of R21 per kg and, therefore, this step would help millers. The delegation also sought a shift towards ethanol and demanded an incentive of R7 per litre.
The delegation also demanded that the existing loans should be rescheduled. The state govt has recently announced Rs 2,000-crore interest-free loan.