Sugarcane crisis: Sanjay Patil to lead 50-member team to meet PM

KOLHAPUR: First time BJP MP from Sangli Sanjay Patil will lead a delegation of parliamentarians from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and make a presentation regarding the current crisis in the sugarcane sector, where prices are low and have stagnated.
He will lead a delegation of 50 MPs expected to meet the PM in the next two days.“We have sought an appointment with the PM. We are preparing a presentation suggesting measures that will benefit various sectors, mainly sugarcane growers and sugar factories. One of the suggestions is to impose additional tax on use of sugar for industrial purposes, mainly by pharma companies,” Patil said.
The sugar sector is facing a crisis at the beginning of sugarcane crushing season. The sugar market is sluggish because of poor demand in the local as well as international market. “There is no chance of sudden rise in sugar demand. The low sugar rates are forcing factory managements to pay less to the farmers because the production cost has gone up,” said Patil.
He said farmers from Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur, Pune, Satara and Ahmednagar are solely dependent on sugarcane crop. If they are offered low price for the crop, it will be disastrous and lead to social unrest in these districts.
Along with Sanjay Patil, union minister of state of food and public distribution Raosaheb Danve will also be the part of the delegation.
P G Medhe, consultant to the Kolhapur-based Rajaram Cooperative Sugar Factory, said, “It is important to have such delegation because sugar crisis is a national issue. The farmers from Gujarat and Karnataka are also facing the same problem.”
The dominant farmers’ organization in western Maharashtra, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana, has demanded Rs 2,700 per tonne as the first instalment to farmers. Most of the sugar factory managements have expressed reluctance to pay the amount.