Sugar mills in Maharashtra have decided that the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) to sugarcane farmers will be paid based on the recovery from the cane crushed during the sugar season. The decision came after a recent meeting between Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and sugar industry players. Pawar issued directions on the matter; however, the government has not issued an ordinance but only guidelines.
The meeting was organised by the State government with sugar millers to discuss FRP payments to farmers and was held in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. He noted that millers face serious difficulties in paying FRP strictly according to the cane extract, as the percentage of recovery changes from month to month.
Millers also placed on record their inability to make timely payments. They said that their expenses are constantly rising, and mills can only access loans by mortgaging sugar stock. In addition, they are bound by the compulsion of releasing sugar into the market as per the quota fixed by the government.
