Latest news with #FRP
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Farmers seeks review of FRP for sugarcane fixed by Centre
Sugarcane growers have urged the State government to seek a review of the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) fixed by the Centre for the year 2025-26. A delegation of farmers submitted a memorandum in this regard to tahsildar of Nanjangud near here on Tuesday. President of Karnataka State Sugarcane Growers' Association Hallikerehundi Bhagyaraj described the FRP of ₹3,550 a tonne announced by the Centre for sugarcane with a recovery of 10.25% for the year as 'unscientific and unjust'. Mr. Bhagyaraj said the Centre had increased the FRP by only ₹150 a tonne over the previous year even though the cost of production had increased substantially. 'As the cost of production, labour cost for harvest, transportation, fertilizers, and wages have all increased, this increase of ₹150 a tonne amounts to just 15 paise a kg', he lamented. Contending that a report by Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) had recommended a price of ₹4,500 a tonne, Mr. Bhagyaraj alleged that the Centre had increased the FRP by only ₹150 a tonne due to 'pressure from sugar factory owners and capitalists'. Lok Sabha members should also put pressure on the Centre to re-evaluate the FRP rate, he said. The farmers' body have demanded the installation of weighing machines in front of all sugar factories by the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) and the Department of Co-operation. 'Digital SMS alerts should be sent to the farmers immediately after weighing,' said Mr. Bhagyaraj, in the statement. Demanding bilateral agreements between the sugar mills and the farmers, he said a committee comprising local farmers and experts should be constituted to prevent fraud in recovery rates of sugarcane. The income statements of the sugar mills should be reviewed by both the State government and the Centre, he said while demanding distribution of excess profits to the farmers. The government should intervene to protect the interests of the farmers, and that the sugar factories should be made to bear the costs of transportation and harvesting, he said. The association has demanded immediate settlement of last year's pending dues amounting to ₹950 crore, and that the Hullahalli road be immediately repaired, and the Hura lift irrigation project be completed soon.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Sugar co-ops face govt action for loan default
MUMBAI: The state government has decided to take to task respective board of directors of 31 sugar cooperatives that were extended margin money loans (down payment) and have defaulted in paying back the first two instalments. The loans were disbursed to the cooperatives, linked to prominent politicians, in tranches ahead of the Lok Sabha election in August 2024, and thereafter in March 2025. The cumulative amount totals ₹4,355 crore. Some of the sugar factories that have taken loans are controlled by top Maharashtra leaders -- Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil (BJP), Harshavardhan Patil (NCP-SP), Shivendraraje Bhosale (BJP), Sanjay Mandalik (Shiv Sena), Hassan Mushrif (NCP), among others. The loan taken by each sugar factory is approximately between ₹40 crore and ₹300 crore. The government did not disclose who among them, or 26 others, were defaulters. People in the know of things from the government have said if the money is not recovered in a month the government will dissolve the boards and recover dues by attaching personal immovable properties of respective directors – this was the norm in August 2023, which was diluted in subsequent years, and has been reinstated now. The cash-strapped government has been compelled to take this step as it has ended up paying back instalments to the bank – ₹79 crore in the interest on loan in January -- on behalf of the factories, said a senior officer in the cooperation department. The government stood bank guarantee for the margin money loan from National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), controlled by the central government. The loan, at 9.46%, is lower than the market rate, and is given for eight years, with the actual repayment of the principal amount beginning in the third year of the disbursement. Factories are expected to pay interest on the loan for the first two years. Most have failed to pay the interest component, compelling the government to bear the burden. Explaining the government's move, the officer said, 'If things are not set right, the burden of repayment of loans in the first two years will be over ₹350 crore, which will increase with time once the repayment of the principal amount begins.' He added, strict norms were laid out following poor recovery from the factories. 'Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, who is also the finance minister, finally decided it was time for hard talk,' he said. Babasaheb Patil, cooperation minister and NCP leader, said, 'We have made it mandatory for sugar factories to first pay the FRP (fair and remunerative price) and the loans from selling the sugar produced from the season which ended last month.' Patil added that the loan was not being used for the purpose it was taken – on upgradation of factories, setting up distilleries, etc. Most of it, he said, was utilised in paying salaries. 'Stricter norms will help the government to restrict non-deserving factories from availing bank guarantee from the government.' PR Patil, chairman, Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation, found the state's conditions unrealistic. 'The state cannot dissolve the board of directors and mortgage immovable properties. It will it not stand in court,' he said.
The Courier
4 days ago
- Business
- The Courier
Administration extended for ex-Dundee United chief Stephen Thompson's failed business
The administration of Stephen Thompson's failed convenience shop business will extend into next year. The former Dundee United chief set up Eddy's Food Station in 2022 with ambitions to grow to 50 shops and 800 staff within five years. But two years later the business entered administration, with millions of pounds of debt. Mr Thompson was subsequently made bankrupt a week before Christmas last year. Since being appointed in April last year, administrators from FRP Advisory have been working to sell the company's assets and establish the scale of the debt. The administration process was due to conclude in April but has been extended until April 24 next year. This will give administrators more time to adjudicate on creditor claims and distribute funds. Eddy's Food Station grew to have six shops – including locations in Ceres, Leuchars and Buckhaven in Fife – though just three outlets remained at the time of collapse. A new progress report from FRP shows the scale of the company's debts. A secured creditor, Nash Business Services Limited is owed £3.8m while HMRC is due £141,000 and unsecured creditors are owed around £550,000. The three remaining stores owned by the company were sold to Dundee-based CJ Lang for £1.5m a year ago. This included sums of £35,000 for stock and £110,000 for furniture and equipment. FRP expects HMRC will be repaid in full and there will be 'sufficient funds available to make a partial distribution to unsecured creditors'. In terms of the secured creditor, the new report adds that 'an issue with the security remains unresolved, and the secured creditor is assessing their options'. Mr Thompson previously told The Courier that 'no banks would speak to him' as the company failed. He highlighted spiralling energy costs as one of the reasons the business didn't work. However, FRP said the company had 'paid premiums' to secure leases as it built up its portfolio of six stores and had also incurred 'substantial' refurbishment costs. It said three sites were sold at a substantial discount. The administrator said: 'The company has struggled with high debt servicing costs and had experienced cash flow pressures caused by high investment costs and lack of profitability.' The administrators said the extent of debts in the company meant a sale as a going concern was impossible because 'the company did not have sufficient working capital to trade in the short term and insufficient assets to liquidate to satisfy creditor demands'. Mr Thompson, who sold his Dundee United shareholding in 2018, previously stated he had invested his 'total pension pot' into Eddy's Food Station. The businessman was granted sequestration – the Scottish term for the legal process of declaring someone bankrupt – on December 18. A document available at Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland's insolvency service, details his level of debt at £881,833. Mr Thompson announced he had filed for bankruptcy when he was a guest on BBC's Off The Ball radio show at the start of November. When asked by host Tam Cowan what he has been up to, he said: 'Well, I've kind of hit rock bottom to be honest. I actually signed a petition for bankruptcy yesterday. 'It's not a great place to be in life but it's a fresh start for me.'
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Sugar industry seeks ethanol price revision as blending share drops to 28% from 73%
The sugar industry has demanded a revision of ethanol procurement prices and extension of blending targets beyond 20%, as the sector's contribution to the national ethanol programme has declined sharply from 73% to just 28%. The industry has also demanded accelerated promotion and manufacturing of Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) to boost ethanol demand and ensure market preparedness for higher blending, National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) said in a statement. The demand was made by the industry delegation, led by Ravi Gupta, Chairman of IFGE's Sugar Bioenergy Group, and expert Member on the Board of NFCSF, in a meeting held at the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) recently, it said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Sasha Meneghel já está irreconhecível após sua recente transformação. 33 Bridges Undo In 2022-23 season (October-September), NFCSF said the sugar industry reached a significant milestone by diverting 43 lakh tonnes of sugar towards ethanol production , enabling the supply of 369 crore litres of ethanol, which accounted for 73 per cent of total ethanol blended with fuel across the country. However, in 2023-24, ethanol supply from sugar-based feedstocks declined to 270 crore litres, contributing only 38 per cent to the national blending programme. Live Events "This is projected to fall further to 250 crore litres in 2024-25, making up just 28 per cent of the total blending target of 900 crore litres," it said in a statement. The main reason for this drop is that ethanol procurement prices have not been increased in line with the rise in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane , making ethanol production less profitable for sugar mills . Although there is potential to divert up to 40 lakh tonnes of sugar into ethanol this year, only 32 lakh tonnes are expected to be diverted. "This shortfall is due to the gap between ethanol prices and better returns from selling sugar directly in the domestic market," NFCSF said. As a result, India's ethanol production capacity of 952 crore litres per year -- including 130 crore litres from multi-feed distilleries -- is being under-utilised. The Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP) has emerged as a vital solution to the longstanding issue of surplus sugar stocks under the National Policy on Biofuels - 2018, which set an ambitious target to divert 60 to 70 lakh tonnes (LMT) of excess sugar annually towards ethanol production. Since the policy's inception, India's ethanol production capacity has expanded significantly from 518 crore litres in 2018 to 1,800 crore litres in 2025. Correspondingly, the ethanol blending rate with petrol has risen sharply from 4.22 per cent to 18.61 per cent as of April 30, 2025. Sugar production has reached 286.9 lakh tonnes as on April 30 of the ongoing 2024-25 season, out of which 30 lakh tonnes have been diverted for ethanol. The industry has additionally suggested evaluating the possibility of blending ethanol in diesel as a future strategy to expand ethanol use across fuel types. NFCSF noted that diverting sugar to ethanol does not reduce the actual production of sugar but helps to manage surplus sugar stocks, stabilise market prices, improve the financial health of sugar mills, and ensure timely payments to farmers.
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Fishermen want to continue fishing in Cooum estuary
Following incidents of small FRP boats being prevented from fishing in the Cooum river estuary, fishermen of various hamlets, including Maattankuppam and Ayodhyakuppam have urged the Indian Coast Guard and Navy to permit them to take up fishing in the area. Community leader Kabaddi Maran said that on last Friday, a boat belonging to Maattankuppam was towed by a grey-coloured boat belonging to one of the forces. 'This is the prawn season, and they grow well in estuaries since there is a confluence of salt and fresh waters. It is not fair on the part of the Armed forces to capture our boats,' he said. Since the annual fishing ban is on along the east coast, traditional fishermen take up fishing activity near the shore in small FRP boats. 'This is not the first time that a boat was towed by the Navy or the Coast Guard. There have been previous incidents too. We are Indians and have every right to fish in the estuary. The fishermen go for fishing in groups and in the daytime. If the Armed forces personnel have doubts, they can ask for ID cards or check with the Fisheries department,' said K. Bharathi, another community leader. A source in the Fisheries department said that they had written to the ICG Commandant in Chennai and asked them to address the issue. 'We want to ensure the safety and rights of the fishermen.'
