The Centre constituted a committee to examine demands for higher payments to sugarcane farmers and a revision in the minimum selling price of sugar, amid concerns over rising production costs and the financial health of sugar mills.
The committee, headed by former NITI Aayog member Professor Ramesh Chand, will review pricing issues affecting farmers and sugar mills, according to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.The move is significant as the minimum selling price of sugar, which is the lowest price at which mills can sell sugar, has remained unchanged at ₹31 per kg since February 2019, even as sugarcane procurement costs have increased.
The committee will examine "the demand for an increase in remunerative returns to sugarcane farmers, taking into account cultivation costs and other relevant factors."
It will also examine "the demand for revision of the ex-mill Minimum Selling Price (MSP) of sugar in the context of sugar production costs, market realisations, and the financial viability of sugar mills."
The committee was constituted following decisions taken at a meeting between sugarcane farmers' representatives from Karnataka and Maharashtra and the Union Ministers of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
The ministry said the committee will "consult all stakeholders, including farmers' representatives, sugar mill associations, state governments and other experts or organisations, as considered necessary."
The panel, which includes senior officials from the agriculture, food distribution and consumer affairs ministries, will submit its findings and specific recommendations as early as possible for government consideration. - ANI
