A new avenue of earning has opened for sugar mills and ethanol distilleries. Sugar mills will now earn by selling potassium derived from molasses to fertilizer companies. For this, the price has been fixed at Rs 4,263 per tonne.
According to information received from the Food Ministry, the rate for the sale of potash has been decided by mutual consent of sugar mills and fertilizer companies. Sugar mills producing potash can also avail of fertilizer subsidy at the rate of Rs 345 per tonne under the Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme (NBS).
During ethanol production, waste chemicals are burned in boilers, producing ash. Potassium derived from molasses (PDM) containing 14.5 percent potash is produced from this potash-rich ash. It can be used by farmers as an alternative to Muriate of Potash (MOP).
For a long time, efforts were being made to reach an agreement between fertilizer companies and sugar mills regarding the price of potash. On the initiative of the Union Food Ministry, the price of potassium derived from molasses has now been fixed.
With this, sugar mills and fertilizer companies will be able to make long-term deals for the purchase and sale of potash.
India is dependent on imports in terms of fertilizers. If the availability of potash through sugar mills increases in the country, it will not only reduce the dependence on the import of fertilizers but will also increase the availability of potash in the country.
At present sugar mills sell about 5 lakh tonnes of potash ash, while its production capacity can reach 10-12 lakh tonnes. This will increase the earnings of sugar mills and make it easier for them to make timely payments to farmers.
But the question is whether the profits that sugar mills are earning from various products made from sugarcane are reaching the farmers also. Apart from sugar, ethanol, potash, and bio-energy are the sources of income for the sugar industry.