The Tamil Nadu Sugarcane Growers' Association has expressed disappointment over the State government fixing the procurement price for sugarcane at Rs. 2,100 a tonne.
Its State president N. Palanisamy said the State government took the decision without convening the tri-party meeting as in the past. Stating that cane growers had voted for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in the Assembly election since the party had announced in its manifesto that it would fix the price of cane at Rs. 2,500 a tonne, he said that the present announcement was contradicting the party's promise.
In a statement, Mr. Palanisamy said that the input cost for cane farming had gone up manifold. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were giving Rs. 2,500 a tonne. The farmers had been fighting for Rs. 3,000 a tonne for the past two years.
The present price would only benefit sugar mill owners since the profit made by them through by-products such as molasses, ethanol, fertilizer and co-generation were not shared with farmers.
The farmers would indulge in a stir demanding a compensatory price for the cane, he said.
