Sugar mills worried over hike in fair and remunerative price of sugarcane

Rise in cane price has been twice as much as that in sugar price over the past decade

The Union Cabinet’s approval of a 10.9 per cent hike in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane to Rs 255 per quintal for season 2017-18 has worried mills because a bumper crop is anticipated from an expected normal monsoon.

Sugar production could rise from last season’s 20.3 million tonnes, which has been the lowest since 2009-10. 

In the current decade, the sugarcane FRP has increased 80 per cent, while the average sugar price has increased only 40 per cent.

T Sarita Reddy, president, Indian Sugar Mills Association (Isma), said: “Sugar prices are not rising in sync