Joshi writes to CM, suggests SAP for sugarcane like in U.P., Punjab

Responding to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s missive connected the sugarcane terms issue, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi has written backmost suggesting that Karnataka denote State Advisory Price (SAP) similar successful Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Haryana.

Mr. Siddaramaiah, who has been urging the Centre to assistance agitating farmers by hiking the just and remunerative terms (FRP), which is fixed by the Centre, connected Friday announced an further ₹100 (now ₹3,300 per tonne), with the State authorities and mill owners paying ₹50 each.

The Chief Minister has been taunting MPs from Karnataka for not speaking up for the State’s farmers and urging the Centre to hike FRP.

CACP recommendation

Mr. Joshi, successful his letter, said that the Central authorities fixed the FRP of sugarcane for each sweetener play (October-September) connected the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).

“The approved FRP of ₹355 per quintal for 2025-26 covers the outgo of accumulation for each sugarcane-producing States and gives a borderline of 105.2% implicit the outgo of production. With each summation of betterment by 0.1%, farmers volition get further ₹3.46 per quintal. At mean betterment of 10.5% successful Karnataka, FRP volition beryllium ₹363 per quintal. There has been appreciable summation successful FRP successful the past decade,” helium said successful the letter.

The Union Minister said that the powers for enforcing the provisions of the Sugarcane Control (Order), 1966, to guarantee timely outgo to the farmers wrong 14 days was vested with the State governments and the Karnataka authorities could denote SAP similar successful U.P., Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Haryana.

Mr. Joshi said that the Union authorities had, nether assorted schemes, provided fiscal assistance of astir ₹16,500 crore during 2014-15 to 2020-21 to sweetener mills to alteration them to wide the cane dues of farmers. To code the occupation of excess sugar, the Centre had been encouraging sweetener mills to utilise excess sugarcane to ethanol.

Ethanol blending

“Till twelvemonth 2013, proviso of ethanol to lipid selling companies (OMCs) was lone 38 crore litres with blending levels of lone 1.53%, which has present been accrued to astir 1,001 crore litres with 20% blending... Allocation of ethanol to distilleries successful Karnataka has accrued from 85 crore litres successful ESY (Ethanol Supply Year) 2022-23 to 133 crore litres successful 2025-26,” helium said.

Listing retired respective initiatives of the Centre, the Union Minister said that the Centre had allowed sweetener mills to export much periodically to negociate surplus sweetener successful the country, portion connected the different hand, cane outgo was present being paid connected clip to farmers.