Pune: Sugar millers from south Maharashtra have broken the deadlock over sugarcane price in the state by agreeing to pay Rs 200/tonne over and above the government` mandated fair and remunerative price (FRP). This will speed up production of new sugar at a time when prices are ruling high and also help sugarcane farmers from the state gain higher returns than their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh.
However, crushing in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh started only in November. The central government has hiked FRP for 2017-18 by Rs 255/quintal for Rs 25/quintal to 2017-18. In UP, the government has hiked the state advised price (SAP) of sugarcane, which is normally higher than FRP, from Rs 305/quintal to Rs 310 quintal in 2017-18.
Millers from Kolhapur district of Maha rashtra agreed to pay Rs 200/tonne above FRP.In the previous year, they had agreed to pay Rs 175/tonne above FRP.` Thus, in principle, millers have agreed to pay about 11% higher than the previous year. In reality, many sugar millers from Maharashtra have paid a much higher price as sugar prices had been ruling strong.