Maharashtra's sugar and textile industry disappointed with budget provisions

25-Jul-2024 12:19 PM

Kolhapur. Entrepreneurs of Maharashtra are disappointed as there is no special provision in the Union General Budget for the proper development and expansion of sugar and cotton textile industry.

It is worth noting that Maharashtra is the leading state in the country in the production of sugar while it is second in the production of cotton.

The number of people working in the sugar and textile industry there is more than other industries and its contribution to the development of the economy is also very high.

But the expectations of these two industries could not be fulfilled in the Union General Budget. Sugar sector entrepreneurs were waiting for the Union Finance Minister's announcement of debt restructuring,

increase in the minimum selling price of sugar and increase in the price of ethanol etc. The minimum selling price of sugar has remained stable at Rs 3100 per quintal for the last five years, while in the 2023-24 season,

the government has limited the use of sugarcane in ethanol production to a great extent. Not a single word was said for the sugar industry in the Union Budget,

while the government was expected to provide some relief to this industry before the start of the next new marketing season. 

On the other hand, textile millers were expecting some relief in the export of high quality garments and cotton yarn and were hoping to impose controls on the import of garments from Bangladesh.

In fact, garments and yarn manufactured in China are now reaching the Indian market very fast via Bangladesh. It is cheap but its quality is considered to be poor.