MUZAFFARNAGAR: Bharatiya Kisan Union national president Naresh Tikait has described the hike in the minimum price that mills have to pay to sugarcane growers by Rs 5 per quintal as "inadequate" in comparison to the rise in prices of petrol and diesel.
The Centre on Wednesday raised the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane by Rs 5 per quintal to Rs 290 a quintal for the 2021-22 marketing year but ruled out any immediate increase in the selling price of sugar.
The decision was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the decision to increase the FRP will benefit farmers as well as workers of sugar mills.
Interacting with reporters here on Wednesday evening, Tikait said, "The hike in FRP of sugarcane is not acceptable to the farmers because it is inadequate in comparison to the rise in prices of petrol and diesel."
He demanded that the hike in the fair and remunerative price of sugarcane should be on par with the rise in prices of petrol, diesel and other items that farmers use to raise the crop.
Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal has said the Centre's decision would benefit around 5 crore sugarcane farmers and their dependents, as well as about 5 lakh workers employed in sugar mills and related ancillary activities.