Poor support makes sugar industry suffer
Visakhapatnam: The shutdown of sugar factories in Andhra Pradesh has devastated sugarcane farmers in Chittoor and Anakapalle districts. Once 29, only five factories remain, failing due to government inaction. Sugarcane prices fell to ₹3,150 per tonne against the demanded ₹4,500, forcing 40% of farmers into jaggery production. Anakapalle’s jaggery market is declining amid competition. PM Modi and BJP’s CM Ramesh promise to revive factories and establish ethanol units to support farmers.
Visakhapatnam: With the shutdown of sugar factories one after another in Andhra Pradesh, sugarcane turned bitter for farmers and there is no place now the cane growers can go. Chittoor district in Rayalaseema and Anakapalle district in north coastal (NCAP), considered the sugar bowls of the state, are in dire straits.
Most of the sugar factories (cooperative and private) in the state downed their shutters as the successive
governments failed to resolve the grievances of management and farmers.
“During the bifurcation (2014), there were 29 sugar factories (10 cooperative and 19 private) in Andhra Pradesh, which came down to five (one cooperative and four private) in 2024”, said Karri Appa Rao, president of AP Sugar Cane Farmers Sangam.
“Both TDP and YSRCP governments are equally responsible for the shutdown of the sugar factories in the state. The closure of the sugar mills has led to shrinkage in cane cultivation in the state. Neither the farmers nor the factories are happy with the output and the governments utterly failed to revive the sugar factories,” said 62-year-old Appa Rao, who is also a sugar cane farmer in Anakapalle district.
The successive governments did not release the special grants to the cooperative sugar factories, and the management have not yet cleared the dues to the farmers. Sugarcane cultivation was traditionally quite popular in parts of NCAP and a few parts of Rayalaseema region, but the area under sugarcane cultivation has been decreasing due to state government’s poor support, the farmers added.
Speaking to TOI, G Ganesh, a sugarcane farmer from Chodavaram region of Anakapalle district said, “With the cost of production increasing, we demanded the state government to ensure a price of 4,500 per tonne. But our pleas fell on deaf ears as the price of the cane is 3,150 a tonne.” With the closure of sugar factories and bitter remunerative price for sugarcane, at least 40 per cent of the sugarcane farmers are now engaged in jaggery production. Though the jaggery market in AP has been facing tough competition from other states, the jaggery is the only source of income for the sugarcane farmers.
The demand for Karnataka and Maharashtra jaggery powder and jaggery blocks has affected the jaggery lumps trade in Anakapalle region. With consumption of jaggery powder and blocks increasing in many states, the demand for Anakapalle jaggery lumps (each lump weighing 10 to 12 kg) has been declining.
The jaggery market in Anakapalle town in Anakapalle district, the second biggest in the country, is slowly losing its sheen and is dying a slow death due to the fall in production of jaggery, declining area under sugar cane cultivation and the drop in demand for Anakapalle jaggery, said Sharath Kumar KV, a third-generation trader in jaggery at Anakapalle. At present, the jaggery makers are getting 420 per 10 kg for special quality jaggery lump, and 350 per 10 kg second quality jaggery lump.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP’s candidate for Anakapalle Lok Sabha constituency CM Ramesh said they will revive the sugar factories in Anakapalle region and will set up agri-based ethanol units for the benefit of sugarcane farmers. The government will save a good amount by blending ethanol with petrol and the majority of the benefits will be passed on to sugarcane farmers, they added.
Source Link : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/poor-support-makes-sugar-industry-suffer/articleshow/110189808.cms
