India increases sugarcane price that mills pay farmers by Rs 15 for every quintal

In a major step to increase the income of sugarcane farmers, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the highest ever fair and remunerative price (FRP) of Rs 305 per quintal for sugarcane for the next marketing year starting October 2022.

The government has increased the FRP by more than 34 percent in the past eight years, which will benefit 5 crore sugarcane farmers as well as 5 lakh workers employed in the sugar mills across the country, the government said.

The move will put pressure on sugar companies as they will have to pay more to procure and will come as a relief to the farmers as the sugarcane crushing season is set to start early this year. Maharashtra will see the season begin from October 1 instead of the end of that month, a senior official has said.