Sugar industry seeks higher minimum ex-mill sugar price to cover cost of production

Industry body, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), on Monday has asked the government to fix the minimum ex-mill sugar price at Rs 36 a kg to cover production cost.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Abinash Verma, director general, said, "On the output, compared to last year at the same time, the production is on the higher side as Maharashtra and Karnataka had started the crushing earlier. However, the estimate of ISMA is lower than last year. We are expecting about 307 lakh tonnes of sugar this year as compared to about 325 lakh tonnes that we produced last year. So, it is going to be lower than last year."

Verma said, "On the price front, the government has fixed a minimum ex-mill sugar price of Rs 29 and that is why the ex-mill prices are hovering around Rs 29-30 per kilo at the mill gates."