Sugar mills to sell potash to fertiliser cos for additional revenue: Food secy

Sugar mills will now be able to sell Potash Derived from Molasses (PDM) to fertiliser companies as an additional source of revenue and also get nutrient-based subsidies on it

Sugar mills will now be able to sell Potash Derived from Molasses (PDM) to fertiliser companies as an additional source of revenue and also get nutrient-based subsidies on it, Food and Public Distribution Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on February 22.

“A Rs 4,263/tonne is the price decided for selling PDM by sugar mills to fertiliser companies with immediate effect. With this we are looking at 10-12 LMT potash manufacturing in the next 3 years,” Chopra told reporters at a briefing.

This would be another source of revenue for sugar mills with distilleries, he added.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, on February 21, approved a hike in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane to Rs 340 per quintal from Rs 315 per quintal for the 2024-25 (October-September) season. The Rs 25-per-quintal increase in the FRP of sugarcane is significantly higher than what was announced last year.

The government has announced a nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) for the supply of granulated potash called PDM which has 14.5 percent potash content. India currently imports 100 percent of potash required as fertilisers.

“The government initiated discussion between sugar mills and fertiliser companies and the mutually agreed price of PDM has been finalised. This would lead to long-term contracts between molasses-based distilleries and fertiliser companies and result in import substitution of potash-based fertilisers,” he said.

Molasses-based ethanol plants generate ash from burning of spent wash which has potash content.

Ethanol

Chopra said that the cabinet secretary recently reviewed ethanol blending with petrol which is currently at 11.5 percent.

“We expect ethanol blending with petrol to reach 15 percent by the end of the year. However, there is no proposal to increase the diversion of sugarcane juice or molasses for ethanol blending. In fact, research for climate-resistant maize is being undertaken for ethanol production. We are promoting maize for ethanol production, ” he said.

Currently, the limit on sugarcane juice and molasses diversion for ethanol is at 17 lakh tonnes.

Bharat Atta

The government estimates to sell 15 LMT of Bharat atta and Bharat rice each over next 4-5 months, the food secretary said.

Also, there is no concern over rice production and the government is not anticipating any shortfall in paddy in this season, he added.

Farmer protests

The government is hopeful that the ongoing farmer protest will be resolved before the procurement season for wheat in March.

“States will begin wheat procurement by March 1-15. We are hopeful that farmer issues will be resolved before procurement season. We are looking at increasing wheat procurement centres and aim to ensure that farmers get payment within 48 hours of procurement as per the  Minimum Support Price (MSP),” he said.

At the heart of the ongoing farm protest is the demand for a legal guarantee for MSP. The farm groups had rejected the Centre’s proposal to buy three types of pulses, maize and cotton from farmers at the minimum support price for five years.