Praneeta Prakash 
[Photo: File]
The Sugar Cane Growers Fund has welcomed the additional assistance provided by government through the recently announced $5 million fuel subsidy for the sugar industry.
SCGF extends its sincere appreciation to the Ministry of Agriculture, Waterways and Sugar Industry, the Ministry of Finance, and all industry stakeholders for responding to the concerns raised by growers and industry participants.
Chief Executive Officer Raj Sharma says the past few weeks had been challenging as stakeholders and the government worked together to find practical solutions to support growers and sustain the industry.
“Government has its own fiscal constraints, yet it has once again demonstrated its commitment to the sugar industry. SCGF has also stepped in where possible to provide interim financial support, directly or indirectly, to growers or the industry during this difficult harvesting period.”
Sharma says that global sugar prices have fallen significantly and are now almost half of previous levels, while fuel and operating costs are high.
He says despite these challenges, the government has maintained a guaranteed cane price of $85 per tonne, a level of support not available to many other agricultural sectors.
Sharma says that during consultations held by the Ministry throughout the cane belt areas, growers consistently requested two key measures including the assurance of the guaranteed cane price and assistance with rising fuel costs affecting harvesting and transportation.
Sharma is also requesting to more than 4,000 growers to prepare and commence harvesting.
