Sugar Industry Urges Price Hike Amid Rising Costs

The National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) has called on the government to increase the minimum selling price of sugar from Rs 31 to Rs 42 per kg. This plea comes in response to the rising production costs and stagnant prices since 2019.

The National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) on Friday urged the government to raise the minimum selling price of sugar to at least Rs 42 per kg. This move aims to help sugar mills sustain operations amid rising production costs that have been straining the industry.

Since 2019, the minimum selling price has remained unchanged at Rs 31 per kg, even though the government has annually increased the fair and remunerative price (FRP) paid to cane growers. NFCSF President Harshvardhan Patil highlighted that this discrepancy necessitates an adjustment in the sugar price to align with increasing production costs.

Patil expressed optimism that this amendment would be part of the government's 100-day agenda. Concurrently, the NFCSF, in association with the National Cooperative Development Corporation, is developing a scheme to provide cane harvesting machines to cooperative mills based on their crushing capacity from October 2024.

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