Cabinet Hikes FRP for Sugarcane by Rs 25 per quintal

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has approved an 11% or Rs 25 per quintal hike in the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane to Rs 255 for 2017-18 season (October-September).

The FRP is the minimum price at which sugar mills purchase cane from sugarcane farmers.

The government had, however, kept sugarcane FRP price unchanged for the current 2016-17 season which is Rs 230 per quintal.

“Keeping in view the interest of sugarcane farmers and given the importance of sugar industry, the Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 24.05.2017 gave its approval for fixing the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane at Rs. 255/- per quintal (qt) for sugar season 2017-18,” an official statement said.

The FRP will be linked to a basic recovery rate of 9.5%, subject to a premium of Rs 2.68 per quintal for every 0.1 % increase in recovery above that level. The approved FRP reflects an increase of 10.87% over the FRP of sugar season 2016-17, it added.

FRP of sugarcane has been determined on the basis of recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and after consultation with State Governments and other stake-holders.

Recommended FRP has been arrived at by taking into account various factors such as cost of production, overall demand-supply situation, domestic and international prices, inter-crop price parity, terms of trade prices of primary by-products, and likely impact of FRP on general price level and resource use efficiency.