The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved assistance of about ₹3,500 crore for sugarcane farmers (Ganna Kisan) in a meeting on Wednesday.
“This decision will benefit 5 crore sugarcane farmers and their dependents, as well as the 5 lakh workers employed in the sugar mills and related ancillary activities,” according to an official release circulated by the government.
The subsidy aims at covering expenses on marketing costs including handling, upgrading and other processing costs and costs of international and internal transport and freight charges on export of up to 60 lakh tonnes (lt) of sugar limited to Maximum Admissible Export Quota (MAEQ) allocated to sugar mills for sugar season 2020-21, the release added.
While the World Trade Organisation has banned most forms of farm export subsidies, developing countries like India are allowed to provide subsidies for marketing and transport till 2023.
Cane price dues
The government is facilitating the evacuation of surplus sugar stock that has been piling up as farmers are not getting their dues from the sugar mill owners who buy their sugar cane.
“This will enable payment of dues of the sugarcane farmers. Government will incur about ₹3,500 crore for this purpose, and this assistance would be directly credited into farmers’ accounts on behalf of sugar mills against cane price dues and subsequent balance, if any, would be credited to mills’ account,” the statement said.