Not sweet enough

The government’s decision to free up sugar prices is an important first step in freeing up sector—based on what the Cabinet cleared on Thursday, sugar mills no longer have to give the government a tenth of what they produce at a fixed levy price, to feed the public distribution system. While this will add around R2,700 crore to the government’s annual subsidy outgo—and add a similar amount to the bottom line of the R80,000 crore industry—this will do little to address the industry’s real problem, of not being able to pay farmers due to irrational policies followed by various state governments. 

Read Full Story>>