Sugar mill owners to present their case to CM today

Members of the South India Sugar Mills Association, Karnataka, on Monday decided to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Belgaum on Tuesday and explain to him the reasons why mill owners are not in a position to pay Rs 2,500 per tonne of sugar cane to farmers as fixed by the government.

A member who attended the meeting in Bangalore said the Association is likely to impress upon the chief minister that the formula of Dr Rangarajan committee which has suggested revenue sharing between the farmers and mill owners in the ratio of 70:30 should be adopted. The association would also point out that economics of sugar has changed with the cost of converting cane to sugar increasing exponentially over the last five years. The increase in sugar production in the country and across the world has brought down the price of sugar in the market. The Association is likely to pay Rs 500 per tonne as support price in addition to the Rs 150 per tonne already announced.

BJP reaction

In Belgaum, the BJP distanced itself from the statement made by its MLA and former minister Umesh Katti on Sunday that it was impossible for industries to pay Rs 2,500 per tonne of sugar cane. Katti runs a sugar factory in Belgaum. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council D V Sadananda Gowda said, “We know that one such sugar industry owner was a minister in our government and has made a statement. Our party stands for the farmers and hopes the government takes into account all the views before arriving at a decision.”