Even as sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh have threatened to shut operations, almost all factories in Karnataka are expected to start crushing of cane by the end of next week, while about a third of the 180 have commenced operations in Maharashtra.

“About 65 mills, including 21 private factories, have started crushing in Maharashtra,” said M.G. Joshi, Managing Director of National Federation of Co-operative Sugar Factories Ltd. Except for the mills in the sugar bowl of Kolhapur, factories in almost all regions have started, though the cane price is yet to be decided.

“The deadlock over cane price continues in Kolhapur and we are in dialogue with the farmers,” Joshi said, seeking Government intervention to resolve the issue quickly.

Farmers in Maharashtra are demanding a price of Rs 3,000 a tonne, while the last year’s payout averaged between Rs 2,600 and Rs 2,700 a tonne, depending on the sugar recovery and factories’ performance.

However, Raju Shetty, MP and leader of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatan, said a majority of the sugar mills in the State are yet to start operations. Though some of them have started operations, the quantity of cane crushed by them is negligible, Shetty said.

Further, farmers were sticking to their demand of Rs 3,000 a tonne and are willing to wait till the issue was resolved, he said and demanded that the Government provide subsidy of Rs 5,000 a tonne to export two million tonnes of sugar. He also said that blending of ethanol with petrol should be increased to 30 per cent.

In neighbouring Karnataka, where the Government has fixed a price of Rs 2,500 a tonne, factories have slowly resorting to cane crushing. Though both farmers and millers have not agreed on this price, crushing has begun. “About 40-42 of the 58 factories in the State have started operations and others are expected to start soon,” said Kurbur Shanta Kumar, President of the Cane Growers Federation.

Considering that further delay would hurt the sugar recovery, both farmers and millers have agreed to start crushing, Shantkumar said, adding that the final settlement would be linked to the prevailing product prices.

Vishwaraj Sugar Industries Ltd, a private player in North Karnataka, will commence operations in a day or two, said the company’s Executive Director, Mukesh Kumar. “We have decided to pay Rs 2,000 a tonne excluding the harvesting and transportation costs. The final settlement at the end of the season will be based on the revenue realisation,” Kumar said.

NFCSF’s Joshi said factories in Haryana were commencing their operations this week and those in Punjab would commence operations by the month-end.

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