With farmers in Maharashtra and other states gearing up for sugarcane sowing exactly a month from now, the market is abuzz with speculation about the minimum price the commodity is likely to command. The Centre is likely to announce the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for 2017-18 season before December 31, ahead of the election commission announcement of UP poll dates. UP is the second largest growing state for sugarcane. The food ministry is considering the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices’ (CACP).recommendation of Rs 255 a quintal for 2017-18 season (October-September, sources said. After the deliberations, the ministry will take the issue to the cabinet. The Centre had not raised the FRP for 2016-17 and kept it at Rs 230 a quintal. The total increase in FRP was less than 10 per cent between 2013-14 and 2016-17. Even questions are being raised about the method used by the CACPto arrive at the cost of production. The recommendation on FRP is very critical for farmers in Karnataka and Maharashtra, which have made laws to adhere to the price fixed by the Centre. However, UP, the second-biggest producer of sugar, fixes its own sugarcane price which is always over and above the Centre’s rate. “As the CACP itself has said that the estimated cost of production for 2017-18 season will not see any increase, there is no logic for suggesting a higher fair and remunerative price,” an industry executive said. According to CACP, the average cost of production of sugarcane (under C2 formula) for 2017-18 will be Rs 202 a quintal compared with Rs 203 a quintal in both 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. Even the modified costs that include transportation, marketing and insurance have seen little change 2015-16 and 2017-18, according to CACP report. According to a government official, there has been a substantial increase in the cost of production in Maharashtra, the country’s largest sugar producer with more than 33 per cent share in 2015-16 season. The cost of production in Maharashtra is estimated at Rs 166 a quintal in 2017-18, up from Rs 146 a quintal in 2016-17. However, the cost of cultivation for sugarcane was Rs 163 a quintal in 2015-16. India may have 21-22 million tonnes of sugar production in 2016-17 season, down from an estimated 25.1 million tonnes a year earlier. The annual consumption has been pegged at 25.5-26 million tonnes. The demand-supply gap will be met through previous years’ surplus stocks.