Dip in arrival of sugarcane a cause for concern at Naraingarh mill

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, March 3

A decline in the fresh arrival of sugarcane at the Naraingarh Sugar Mills has become a matter of concern for the mill authorities. Against the daily requirement of 40,000 quintal, the mill was receiving about 30,000 quintal, as many farmers have started delivering their produce to crushers and other mills.

Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) spokesman and sugarcane farmer from Naraingarh Rajiv Sharma said, “Last year, the farmers came to know about the attachment of property of the mills, and they were worried that the mills would soon be closed. To avoid their payments from getting stuck, a number of farmers have started delivering their produce to crushers and other mills.”

As per information, last year around 48.50 lakh quintal sugarcane was crushed and this year the mill has a target to crush around 50 lakh quintal. So far, 35.50 lakh quintal sugarcane has been crushed and a shortfall of around 2 lakh quintal is being observed, if compared to the arrivals of previous year.

As per a mill official, “Pending dues of around Rs 41 crore of the previous season and payment of around Rs 82 crore of the current season has been cleared, while the payment of around Rs 57 crore is due. Last year, the season ended in April, but this year, due to a fall in the arrivals, the season may end early.”

Naraingarh SDM Yash Jaluka, who also holds the charge of CEO and executive director of the sugar mills, said, “Due to the farmers’ apprehension, a fall in the supplies has been observed. The prices of molasses and sugar are favourable this year.

At present, the sugar recovery is around 10.50 per cent, which is very good, and it will help in achieving higher production. If the mills get adequate sugarcane, they will be able to sell the sugar stocks at a good price and it will help in clearing the farmers’ dues in time.”

“The payments up to December 31 were cleared and the mill has adopted a policy of releasing 70 per cent payment from January onwards, so that every farmer gets their payment, even if the cane was supplied on the last day of the season. The 70 per cent payment will be cleared within 30 days. Earlier, the farmers who used to deliver sugarcane during the last weeks of the season had to wait for months to get their payments cleared. An outreach programme has been launched to motivate the farmers to deliver sugarcane at the mills. We will meet them in the villages from where a drop in the arrivals is being observed,” he added.