The Centre has decided to raise the Fair and Remunerative Price of sugarcane payable by millers to farmers to Rs. 230 per quintal for the 2015-16 sugar season as against Rs. 220 per quintal set for the previous sugar season.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister approved the proposal at its meeting here.
According to an official statement the Fair and Remunerative price of Rs.230 per quintal is linked to a basic recovery rate of 9.5 percent. “This shall be subject to a premium of Rs.2.42 per quintal for every 0.1 percentage point increase in recovery above that level,” the statement said. The sugar marketing season is from October to September.
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The raise is consistent with the Rs.10 per quintal hike being given in the last few years, but it has been agitating farmers in various states especially Uttar Pradesh where the State Advised Prices are higher and being resisted by millers. In U.P., the SAP is Rs. 280 per quintal for 2014-15.
The payment arrears in the State are estimated at Rs. 1500 crore and millers and farmers are at loggerheads over the dues.