Bengaluru () – Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah told the Centre on Saturday that the national government must change its policy so that sugarcane farmers get fair prices and real support.
He wrote to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, asking the centre to act quickly so Karnataka’s sugarcane growers receive “their due in price, in respect, and in justice.” The CM said the Indian government still ignores the widening gap between the cost of growing sugarcane and the price farmers actually get.
The central government claims that the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) – currently set at ₹355 per quintal with a 10.25 % recovery rate – gives growers a 105.2 % margin over their costs. Siddaramaiah points out that the cost of fertilizers, labor, and transport has more than doubled since 2014, while the FRP has only risen at a 4.47 % annual rate, from ₹210 per quintal in 2014 to ₹355 today.
During the NDA era, the centre stopped raising the FRP for two straight years, causing farmers to lose about ₹20 per quintal each year. In contrast, the UPA administration increased FRP growth to 12.96 % per year. The CM notes that the NDA’s slightly higher 10.25 % recovery rate actually lowers the effective FRP, which would be ₹329 per quintal on a 9.5 % recovery. This amounts to a modest 3.8 % cumulative growth—far below what farmers need.
Siddaramaiah said the government’s emphasis on ethanol blending and increased ethanol procurement is misleading. Ethanol usage in Karnataka reached only 10 % by 2023, and distillery supply rose from 38 crore litres in 2022‑23 to 47 crore litres in 2024‑25, far short of the 270‑crore-litre capacity. He argued that the central claim of massive ethanol procurement does not match the data.
Under the past 12.96 % FRP growth, ethanol blending was under 5 % and the recovery rate was 9.5 %. Today, ethanol blending is around 20 % but the 10.25 % recovery rate reduces FRP growth to just 3.8 %. Consequently, farmers remain exposed to an unreliable pricing system, even as the sugar sector as a whole is doing better.
Siddaramaiah says the government needs an equitable pricing mechanism, otherwise Karnataka’s sugarcane growers will continue to suffer from unscientific FRP and recovery rates.
Source: ianslive
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