Tag:

Punjab

Jagatjit Industries to set up 200 KLPD grain based Ethanol Plant in Punjab; Stock jumps 4%

by Sugar Times magazine August 2, 2022

written by Sugar Times magazine

The Board of Directors of Jagatjit Industries Limited at their meeting held on July 22, 2022, have approved the proposal for setting up 200 KLPD Grain based Ethanol Distillery Plant at Hamira, Distt. Kapurthala, Punjab.

Accordingly, the capacity will be added within 12 months from the date of in-principle approval from the concerned Ministry and sanction of loan.

The estimated investment required is for the project is Rs200 crore and Rs185 crore will be financed from Banks – Project Loans and Rs15 crore from internal sources.

Inspired by the Prime Minister’s program of achieving higher ethanol blending coupled with recently announced higher Ethanol prices, the Company has planed to set up its 200 KLPD Grain based Distillery Plant at its Hamira Unit in Punjab.
The above news was originally posted on www.indiainfoline.com

August 2, 2022

Farmers

Sugarcane Farmers To Get Their Dues In Three Installments: Punjab Agriculture Minister

by Sugar Times magazine August 2, 2022

written by Sugar Times magazine

Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Friday said sugarcane farmers will get their dues amounting to Rs 300 crore in three installments.

The first installment of Rs 100 crore will be released by July 30, the second of the same amount by August 30, and the third by September 15, said Dhaliwal after a meeting here with farm union leaders.

According to an official statement, he told farmer leaders that the state government is in the process of equipping the sugar mills with state-of-the-art machinery and as part of this strategy, the mills at Batala and Gurdaspur are being modernized.

The minister said the government-constituted teams visited 730 spots in the cotton belt of Muktsar, Bathinda, and Barnala where crops were damaged due to the whitefly attack.

The teams will visit again on July 28 to assess the damage.

Dhaliwal said in case somebody is found selling spurious seeds and pesticides to farmers, stringent action will be taken.

He will emphatically take up the issue of the cases registered against farmers during the stir against the Centre’s now-withdrawn farm laws, the minister assured.

Reiterating that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has always kept the interests of farmers uppermost in his mind, he said the CM has written to the Centre protesting against the exclusion of Punjab from the committee formed on the MSP.

The chief minister stands fully committed to spare no effort to ensure the welfare and prosperity of the farming community of the state.

As part of this, it is the firm resolve of the state government to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards any exploitation of sugarcane farmers by private mill owners, he said.

He said owners of private mills will be asked to ensure timely payments to farmers and in case of non-compliance, the mill will have to shut shop.

The above news was originally posted on www.outlookindia.com

August 2, 2022

Farmers

Punjab government will not tolerate exploitation of sugarcane farmers by private mill owners: Kuldeep Dhaliwal

by Sugar Times magazine July 25, 2022

written by Sugar Times magazine

Chandigarh, July 22: Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab Government stands fully committed to spare no effort for ensuring welfare and prosperity of the farming community of the state. As part of this, it is the firm resolve of the state government to adopt zero tolerance policy towards exploitation of sugarcane farmers by the private mill owners.

These views were expressed here today by the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal at the Municipal Bhawan in Sector 35 during a meeting with the leaders of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha. He said that the owners of the private mills would be asked to ensure timely payments to the farmers and in case of non-compliance, the mill would have to shut shop.

The Minister further said that there would no shortage of sugarcane in the state even if the Government itself has to run the mills.

Disclosing the farmer friendly measures, the Minister pointed out that as far as the due payment worth Rs 300 crore of sugarcane farmers towards the cooperative mills is concerned, it would be released in three instalments.

The first instalment of Rs 100 crore would be released by July 30, second instalment of Rs 100 crore by August 30 while the third instalment of the same amount would be paid by September 15.

“The state government is in the process of equipping the sugar mills with state-of-the-art machinery and as part of this strategy, the mills at Batala and Gurdaspur are being modernized with installation of new equipment,” said Dhaliwal.

Divulging more, the Minister said that the government constituted teams had visited the 730 spots in the cotton belt of Sri Muktsar Sahib, Bathinda and Barnala where the onslaught of whitefly had damaged the crops. The teams would visit again on July 28 to assess the damage. The Minister also added that in case somebody is found selling the spurious seeds and pesticides to the farmers, stringent action would be taken.

Reiterating that the Chief Minister has always kept the interests of farmers uppermost in his mind, the Minister said that the Chief Minister has today itself written a letter to the Government of India protesting against the exclusion of Punjab from the committee formed on the MSP issue.

The Minister assured that he would emphatically take up the issue of the cases registered against the farmers during the farmers agitation besides ensuring jobs to the next of kin of martyred farmers with the Chief Minister.

The above news was originally posted on www.tribuneindia.com

July 25, 2022

Farmers

Pay Rs 22 Crore Dues To Cane Growers By Selling Property Of Sugar Mill, Says Punjab Minister

by Sugar Times magazine July 25, 2022

written by Sugar Times magazine

Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Monday directed officials to sell the property of a sugar mill to make pending payments to the cane growers.

A decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Dhaliwal with the representatives of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Doaba) and Sandhar Sugar Mill, Phagwara, according to an official release.

Taking a tough stand against the management of the mill on making due payment to sugarcane farmers, the minister directed the officers of the department to ensure that out of the Rs 72 crore pending payment towards the farmers, an amount of Rs 22 crore must be realized soon and credited into the accounts of farmers by selling the property of the mill at Bhuna in Haryana.

The minister ordered an audit of the mill to be conducted by thoroughly looking into all aspects.

“Corruption would not be tolerated at any cost,” said the Minister, who also directed the officers to issue a notice to the mill management to pay the remaining amount of Rs 50 crore otherwise the mill will have to close operations by November this year.

Dhaliwal stated that the Punjab government was committed to the welfare of the farming community, which forms the backbone of the economy of Punjab, and would leave no stone unturned to protect their interests.

(Inputs from PTI)
The above news was originally posted on www.outlookindia.com

July 25, 2022

Farmers

Aiming at 100 quintal/acre sugarcane yield, says Punjab FM Harpal Cheema

by Sugar Times magazine April 27, 2022

written by Sugar Times magazine

Cooperation and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the government had set a target to enhance sugarcane yield to 100 quintal per acre in the next two years.

Growers to earn Rs. 36K/acre more

The growers’ income will be increased by about Rs. 36,000 an acre. We will give improved seed to farmers. — Harpal Cheema, Finance Minister

He said 1.72 crore quintal of sugarcane had been crushed by cooperative sugar mills during the 2021-22 season, which is about 20 lakh quintal more than the last crushing season.

He said the cooperative sugar mills had extracted 0.26 per cent more sugar during 2021-22 than last year which had resulted in production of about 44,764 quintal of surplus sugar. Cheema said this was expected to generate an additional revenue of Rs 16 crore.

He said cooperative sugar mills had sold 2,85,000 quintal of sucrose (sheera) at Rs 887 a quintal as against the previous year’s average of Rs 800, resulting in the increase of income up to Rs 2.50 crore.

He said the government had constituted a task force to increase the income of sugarcane growers. He said the task force includes representatives from PAU, Ludhiana, ICAR, Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, and sugarcane experts, besides Sugarfed officials.

The above news was originally posted on www.tribuneindia.com

April 27, 2022

Farmers

Punjab sugarcane farmers await Rs 53 crore in pending payment

by Sugar Times magazine November 17, 2021

written by Sugar Times magazine

CHANDIGARH: As the sugarcane crushing season is going to kickstart from November 15, cane farmers in Punjab are still awaiting release of their over Rs 53 crore payment from private sugar mills, out of which Rs 43 crore pertains to the 2019-20 crushing season.

Wahid Sandhar Sugars Limited at Phagwara in Kapurthala district has to pay Rs 43.01 crore for the 2019-20 crushing season and Rs 7 crore for 2020-21 out of the total outstanding payment. Among the total seven private sugar mills operational in Punjab, Bhagwanpura Sugar Mills at Dhuri in Sangrur district is another mill with a big outstanding payment of nearly Rs 2.56 crore for 2020-21. Private sugar mills were to pay Rs1,880 crore to cane growers for 2020-21, out of which Rs 10.72 crore is still outstanding.

“We are pursuing the process of recovery under the Revenue Recovery Act and the Kapurthala deputy commissioner has also attached properties of the directors of Phagwara sugar mill for recovering the amount,” Punjab cane commissioner Dr Gurvinder Singh told TOI. Rest of the private sugar mills are in the process of releasing the payment, he added.

Apart from seven private sugar mills, there are nine cooperative sugar mills in the state. As the state assembly elections are scheduled early next year, this is for the first time in the last four years that the Congress government has cleared all the outstanding dues of cooperative sugar mills till date before the start of crushing season. The cooperative sugar mills have cleared payment of Rs 486 crore for 2019-20 and Rs 472 crore for the year 2020-21.

The above news was originally posted on timesofindia.indiatimes.com

November 17, 2021

Ethanol

Punjab National Bank, Assam Bio Refinery enter into pact to produce bio-ethanol

by Sugar Times magazine September 28, 2021

written by Sugar Times magazine

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa attended a MoU signing ceremony where in Punjab National Bank entered into an agreement with Assam Bio Refinery for producing bio-ethanol at Srimanta Sankardev International Convention Centre.

Speaking on the occasion, Sarma while terming the occasion as a good beginning, said that the MoU will encourage and empower the famers to cultivate bamboos which in turn will help in producing green energy. He said that Government of Assam is working wholeheartedly to maximise the use of green fuel thus reducing contributing factors of environmental pollution. Referring to State government’s Ethanol Production Promotion Policy, Sarma said that the government is always on the look out to icrease production of bio-ethanol.

Thanking the Punjab National Bank for its initiative in giving loans to the famers to encourage production of bio-ethanol, Chief Minister said that the move would be a giant step towards empowering the farmers and entrepreneurs associated with bamboo cultivation.

He also requested the Punjab National Bank to participate with the government in expediting the pace of development in the state, as the government is always with the bank to help its different ventures.

Sarma also presented loan sanction letters to a few farmers as a part of the bank’s mega credit camp.

The above news was originally posted on economictimes.indiatimes.com

September 28, 2021

Farmers

Haryana increases price of sugarcane by Rs 12 per quintal, to pay more than Punjab now

by Sugar Times magazine September 10, 2021

written by Sugar Times magazine

Haryana on Thursday announced that it will increase the price of sugarcane by Rs 12 per quintal, taking it to Rs 362 per quintal, after a nod for the same was received from state Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Agriculture Minister, JP Dalal, while announcing the price hike on Thursday for the 2021-22 crushing season, added that the revised prices would effectively mean that Haryana will now be the state paying the highest for sugarcane in the entire country, even more than Punjab’s Rs 360 per quintal.

“The price of sugarcane has been increased after the approval of the Chief Minister to protect the interests of farmers in the state. The situation of sugarcane farmers, sugarcane mills, sugar prices, and other matters was discussed in a meeting on Thursday. As per the decision taken, Rs 362 per quintal will be provided for early maturing varieties of sugarcane, while Rs 355 per quintal will be provided for late-maturing varieties of sugarcane, which was Rs 340 per quintal earlier,” Dalal told media persons on Thursday after the meeting.

“Due to the poor quality of sugarcane last year, the recovery of all private and cooperative sugar mills has been depreciated by 0.34. The recovery has decreased from 10.58 to 10.24. It has been observed that the variety of sugarcane being sown these days — like 0238 — is riddled with diseases. Therefore, agricultural scientists have developed a new variety — christened 15023 — of sugarcane after discussing it with the scientists of the Union government and Haryana Agricultural University. The sugar recovery from the sugarcane currently being sown is generally around 10.50 per cent, while the expected recovery of newly developed variety — 15023 — is around 14 per cent. Efforts will be made to reach this variety to the farmers at the earliest and 30 per cent increase in sugarcane production is expected. Besides farmers, the sugar mills and the state government will also get benefits after the introduction of the new variety”, Dalal added.

Talking about operation timings,of sugarcane mills Dalal added, “This time, all sugar mills have been directed to operate in the first week of November so that farmers can get their crops crushed on time. Farmers would get more profit by running the sugar mills early and they would be able to sow their next crop. This time more sugarcane will be allotted to all sugar mills as compared to last year and the capacity of the mills will not be reduced. Haryana is excelling in sugarcane production. We have made 100 per cent payment to all sugar mills, except one in Naraingarh. The state government has been making every possible effort to provide timely payment to the farmers”.

Comparing rate of sugarcane in Haryana with Punjab, the agriculture minister said, “Haryana would probably be the only state which has been using its budget for the payment of farmers. In this direction, a subsidy of Rs 192 crore was provided last year to revive the mills from losses. Price of sugarcane in Punjab was Rs 310 for the last 4 years which has now been increased by Rs 50 due to the upcoming assembly elections in the state.”.

Farmers in Punjab had launched an agitation last month and blocked a national highway and rail tracks in Jalandhar to demand an increase in sugarcane prices, while claiming that their production cost had spiralled considerably. The protest was finally lifted after Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, approved a hike of Rs 35 per quintal in the state assured price (SAP) of sugarcane after a meeting with farmer leaders on August 24.

The above news was originally posted on indianexpress.com

September 10, 2021

Farmers

Punjab vs Haryana: In sugarcane price war, Khattar govt has the last laugh

by Sugar Times magazine September 10, 2021

written by Sugar Times magazine

In the ongoing sugarcane price war between Punjab and Haryana in the wake of farmers’ against three farm laws, the latter had the last laugh on Thursday with the BJP-JJP government announcing a price of Rs 362 per quintal, a marginal hike of Rs 2 over neighbouring Punjab.

In a clear case of one-upmanship against Punjab, Haryana announced a hike of 12 per quintal over its existing price of Rs 350 (for early variety) to make it Rs 362, highest in the country.

With an eye on next year’s assembly elections, the Capt Amarinder Singh Government recently announced a massive hike of Rs 50 per quintal taking state’s sugarcane price to Rs 360 per quintal.

The sugarcane price has been stable at Rs 310 per quintal in Punjab since last four years. It is only in the election year that the Congress Government has effected Rs 50-hike to woo the voters. But still Haryana is paying highest price in country

JP Dalal, Haryana Agriculture Minister

Since then, the Khattar Government was at its end about the quantum of increase in the sugarcane prices as the state was already paying highest price of Rs 350 per quintal in the country (before Punjab increased in to Rs 360).

In fact, Agriculture Minister JP Dalal tried to score some brownie points over its neighbouring state regarding sugarcane price. “The sugarcane price has been stable at Rs 310 per quintal in Punjab since last four years. It is only in the election year that the Congress Government has effected Rs 50-hike to woo the voters. But still Haryana is paying highest price in the country,” Dalal asserted.

Sources said in the wake of the farmers’ agitation against three farm laws, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar wanted to retain Haryana’s No 1 position in sugarcane price in the country. “The announcement of Rs 362 per quintal as sugarcane price has been made on the directions of the chief minister, after approval from Sugarcane Control Board,” Cooperation Minister Banwari Lal said.

Khattar had gone public with his displeasure over Punjab farmers’ leaders, who were spearheading farm stir at Singhu and Tikri borders, offering “ladoos” to Capt Amarinder Singh after announcement of Rs 360 as sugarcane prices by the Punjab Government recently.

The above news was originally posted on www.tribuneindia.com by Pradeep Sharma Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 9

September 10, 2021

Sugar News

SAP raised to Rs 360 in Punjab; sugarcane farmers call off stir

by Sugar Times magazine August 27, 2021

written by Sugar Times magazine

With an eye on the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections, the Congress government today announced a hike in state advised price (SAP) of sugarcane by Rs 50 per quintal over the last year’s price, fixing it at Rs 360 per quintal. Welcoming the decision, the protesting farmers lifted the blockade on the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway and rail tracks.

Private sugar mills seek subsidy

Punjab Private Sugar Mills Association, a body of seven mills, says they will pay the hiked SAP only if the state subsidises them

“If the state wants to increase SAP on a par with Haryana, it should emulate its neighbour’s policy of paying the differential between the fair and remunerative price (FRP) and SAP (Rs39 per quintal) as subsidy to mills,” said two private sugar mill owners

“Moreover, the sugar recovery rate in Haryana and Uttarakhand is much higher at 10.9 and 11.5%, as compared to 9.6% in Punjab. The decision is not acceptable to us,” they added

The decision to increase the SAP was taken after a meeting between Samyukt Kisan Morcha leaders and Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh here. The CM told the farmer leaders the state’s financial situation had held back the government from raising the SAP for the past few years.

Last week, the government had proposed raising the SAP to Rs 325 per quintal, leading to the blockade by farmers. The intervention by Cooperatives Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, too, failed to break the ice between farmers and government, and rail and road traffic in the state remained disrupted.

Sources in the government said during today’s talks, the CM initially proposed Rs 340 per quintal, with an assurance that it would be raised by another Rs 15 per quintal in the next cane crushing season. After the offer, farmer leaders, including Balbir Singh Rajewal and Manjit Singh Rai, insisted the SAP be raised in one go, and should be higher than that of neighbouring Haryana. It was then agreed that the SAP be fixed at Rs 360 per quintal, Rs 2 per quintal more than the SAP of Haryana.

Interestingly, former minister Rana Gurjit Singh, whose family owns a prominent sugar mill, supported farmers’ demand and played a key role in resolving the crisis. Rai later told The Tribune the decision would help alleviate the suffering of debt-ridden farmers.

The SAP of sugarcane has been increased from Rs 295-Rs 310 per quintal (based on the variety) after a gap of four years. Last February, an expert committee headed by scientists from Punjab Agricultural University had recommended the SAP be fixed at Rs 342 per quintal after calculating the input costs.

The reason for the price not being increased was state’s weak fiscal health, and its complete dependence on private sugar mills, which crush over 70 per cent of the cane. Private mills, owned by politicians from across the political spectrum, have been resisting any hike in SAP, saying the retail and wholesale prices of sugar have remained low in the past couple of years.

The retail price of sugar now hovers around Rs 4,000 per quintal and wholesale price around Rs 3,800 per quintal. “The average mill realisation for crushing cane and sugar production is Rs 3,250-Rs 3,300 per quintal, based on a 10 per cent sugar recovery rate. Most private mills have distilleries and cogeneration plants, besides selling molasses in huge quantities. Thus, they should be making good profits. The only issue is the nine cooperative sugar mills, where the state will have to shell out more from its kitty to pay the hiked SAP to farmers,” says Jaswant Singh, former Cane Commissioner, Punjab.

The above news was originally posted on www.tribuneindia.com

August 27, 2021

Newer Posts

Older Posts