Pune: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday said he and NCP president Sharad Pawar will call upon Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to discuss the crisis facing the sugar industry.
Gadkari, who shared dais with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Pawar at a conference of state sugar factories, said the crisis of financial viability of the industry should be handled "without politicising the issue" and by looking for long-term solutions.
"I and Pawar will be meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to discuss the sugar industry crisis. There are certain recommendations under consideration of the Central government aimed at reviving the industry. A final decision will be taken by the Prime Minister and the cabinet," he said.
The Minister, who himself runs three sugar factories in Vidarbha region, said, "If sugar factories are closed, it will result in loss of employment for a large number of people."
Noting the financial crisis created by the gap between the sugar prices and the stipulated FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price) to the cane growers, Gadkari appealed to Fadnavis to convene a meeting of all party leaders and representatives of farmers' organisations to discuss the FRP factor and prevent closure of factories.
"This may call for taking some unpopular but necessary decisions," he added.
Stating that cultivation of sugarcane should be reduced in the view of the lesser demand, Gadkari said the farmers should instead go in for crops such as oilseed and pulses.
The loss being suffered by the sugar industry at present can be off-set to some extent by laying emphasis on by-products like ethanol and other bio-fuels which can find application in transport sector, Gadkari added.
On the occasion, Fadnavis acknowledged the sugar industry in the state was in a "deep crisis" because of difference between the FRP to cane growers and actual sugar prices, saying the "price of the finished product is less than the raw material".
Although FRP has been increased, there is no indication that the demand for sugar in international market is likely to increase, he added.
Fadnavis, however, expressed the state government's limitations in extending financial assistance to the industry, saying Maharashtra was already under a debt of Rs 3.5 lakh crore.
"We need a collective thinking on sugar industry crisis as survival of the industry is vital for sustenance of the cane grower. We have to take the farmers into confidence and deliberate on whether the law governing FRP in the state can be modified," he said.
Pawar, a former Union agriculture minister and president of Vasantdada Sugar Institute which organised the conference, said the sugar industry in the state was at a "critical turning point" with a big gap between the prices of cane and finished sugar.
"The government should look into the matter and the factories should also economise to tide over the crisis. The Chief Minister should also initiate a conference of all party leaders to discuss and find ways to overcome the problem," he added.
