Aska sugar mill raises cane price by Rs 400 per tonne

The Aska Cooperative Sugar Industries Limited in Ganjam district has fixed the sugarcane price at Rs 1600 per tonne for the new crushing season, which will start from the next month. The new price is Rs 400 per tonne more than the last year’s price.

The sugar factory management has also decided to provide transport subsidy to the farmers to transport their sugarcane to the mill from the field. The new price was fixed after a meeting of the farmers’ representatives with the factory management at Chhatrapur.

“We have decided to increase the sugarcane price by Rs 400 per tonne”, said VK Pandian, the district collector, who is also the chairman of Aska Cooperative Sugar Industries. The amount of transport subsidy will be decided after looking into the subsidies provided by other factories in the state, he added.

The sugarcane farmers, however, are not satisfied with the new price. They demanded Rs 2200 per tonne in the backdrop of high sugar prices and low cane production this year.

“Sugar levy quota, levy price, retail price; every thing has gone up. But when it comes to Central and state assistance to farmers, it is fixed at the bare minimum level”, said the secretary of Ganjam district sugarcane growers association, Samir Prdhan. “We will approach the government to increase the cane price further and waive the transport charges”, said vice-president of the association, Naryan Jena.

He said, the farmers are not showing interest to grow sugarcane due to lack of incentives and lower cane price. “If the government and the factory authorities do not come out with suitable packages and increase the cane price, the oldest sugar factory in the state will be closed”, he warned.

District collector, however, said, the farmers will be provided a higher price if they grow sugarcane in more areas. “We have fixed the suggestive price at Rs 2200 per tonne, if they supply over one lakh tonnes of cane to the factory”, he said.