Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said a host of factors, including drop in sugar prices and unprecedented increase in cane cultivation area, had resulted in the present crisis in the sector.

In reply to a query by Opposition leader in Legislative Council on Tuesday on unpaid dues to sugarcane farmers by sugar mills, he said growing area had doubled from 2008-09 to the current 6.7 lakh hectares in Karnataka. The production has also shot up from 16 lakh tonnes of sugar to 49 lakh tonnes now.

There is little avenue to export sugar as price in international market is also down, he added. The sugar rates in domestic market have slumped from Rs. 3,330 per quintal in 2004-05 to less than Rs 2,900 now.

“The Government has fixed Rs. 2,500 per tonne of sugarcane and also paid directly into farmer’s account Rs. 150 per tonne as incentive... In 2013-14 alone, the Government released Rs. 1,173 crore of assistance to sugarcane farmers. No other Government has taken such step, not just in Karnataka but in the entire country,” said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Legislative Council.

The Chief Minister is expected to give a formal reply later.