(FE)
The sugar industry in Uttar Pradesh, which has been reeling under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and has a burden of cane dues worth Rs 14,300 crore, has sought a bailout package from the state government. In a letter to chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the president of Uttar Pradesh Sugar Millers Association, CB Patodia, has asked the government to bailout the industry by way of a cash subsidy, which shall help augment the mills’ cash flows and ensure continuation of cane crushing operations and cane price payments.
Highlighting the stress areas, Patodia wrote that the lockdown has brought in considerable hardship for the sugar industry as institutional sale of sugar has dipped massively. “Various related industries, like confectionary, sweets and chocolates and aerated soft drinks have come to a halt and the demand for sugar, therefore, has been at its lowest in decades,” he states, adding that as a direct consequence most of the mills are unable to sell even their monthly quota and have been compelled to store sugar in the open as they have run out of storage space.
