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'Buffer stock to help sugarcane growers'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 2. The Centre today said that its decision of creating a buffer stock of 20 lakh tonnes of sugar generating Rs. 786 crores was to mitigate the hardship of sugarcane growers whose arrears stood at Rs.1,100 crores.

Replying to a calling attention notice in the Rajya Sabha on the problems of the cane growers, the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Sharad Yadav, said the decision on buffer stock would involve an outgo of Rs. 412 crores from the Sugar Development Fund while the additional amount of Rs. 374 crores would be released by banks on this account. "These funds will be used exclusively for the payment of cane price to sugarcane growers for which the required rules are already in place,'' Mr. Yadav said.

The sugar industry was facing a crisis with bumper crops and stocks adding to it. This year too, the Government expected 84 lakh metric tonnes of crop against last season's carry-over of 100 lakh metric tonnes. The Government would come out with a long-term policy to address the problem, keeping in mind the emerging trends worldwide.

Mr. Yadav said the Government was promoting sugar export to liquidate surplus stocks. It had lifted the quantitative ceiling on export since April last year, exempted sugar meant for export from levy obligation, treated the quantity of sugar released for export as advance freesale and taken other steps.

Referring to the problem of the Uttar Pradesh cane growers, he said the State Government had announced the State Advised Price with respect to sugar mills under the State Sugar Corporation and cooperative mills. The sugar mills' association had challenged the authority of the State Government to fix the cane price and the Allahabad High Court had stayed the fixation. The Supreme Court had not vacated the stay.

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