Sugarcane remunerative price hiked by 15/quintal

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday increased the minimum price that mills have to pay to sugarcane farmers, known as Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP), by Rs 15 to Rs 305 per quintal for the 2022-23 marketing year starting October.
The decision is likely to benefit nearly five crore sugarcane farmers and their family dependents, as well as about five lakh workers employed in sugar mills and related ancillary activities. In an official statement, the government said, “The CCEA has approved FRP of sugarcane for sugar season 2022-23 (October - September) at Rs 305 per quintal for a basic recovery rate of 10.25%.” The cost of production of sugarcane for the 2022-23 marketing year is Rs 162 per quintal.”
According to the release, a premium of Rs 3 per quintal will be provided for each 0.1% increase in recovery over and above 10.25%, while there will be a reduction in FRP by Rs 3 per quintal for every 0.1% decrease in recovery.
However, to protect the interest of sugarcane farmers, the government has decided that there shall not be any deduction in case of sugar mills where recovery is below 9.5%. Such farmers will get Rs 282 per quintal for sugarcane in the ensuing sugar season 2022-23 in place of Rs 275.5 per quintal in current sugar season 2021-22.
The government said it has increased FRP by more than 34% in the past eight years. It said, “The FRP of Rs 305 per quintal at a recovery rate of 10.25% is higher by 88.3% over cost of production, thereby ensuring the promise of giving the farmers a return of more than 50% over their cost.”