THANJAVUR: Farmers in the state have called the fair and remunerative price (FRP) announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for sugarcane, which has been increased by Rs 10 per quintal, “unacceptable”, that too for the fixed recovery rate of 10.25%, as they complained of it not being in line with the high production cost and pointed out that only few sugar mills achieve a recovery rate of 10% and above.
The CCEA had on Wednesday approved Rs 315 per quintal as FRP, which is the minimum price mills have to pay to farmers, for sugarcane crushing season 2023-24 which commences from October this year. This translates to Rs 3,150 per tonne.
The price is applicable for a recovery rate of 10.25%. The recovery rate is calculated on the basis of the sugar produced from the quantity of sugarcane crushed in a mill. D Ravindran, the general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Sugarcane Farmers Association, told TNIE that the price is unacceptable to sugarcane farmers.
"Sugarcane farmers in Tamil Nadu will not get Rs 3,150 per tonne as the recovery rate of sugar mills in the state range between 8.6% and 9.5%. Only a few mills achieve a recovery rate of 10% or 10.1%," he said, adding that for recovery rate below 9.5%, the government has fixed the FRP at Rs 2,919.75 per tonne, which accounts for only an increase of `98.50 per tonne.
In 2019-20 the FRP was Rs 2,750 per tonne which now stood at `2,919, he pointed out. In the past four years the hike was only around `170 per tonne. However, the prices of inputs like diesel, fertiliser and labour cost increased by around 60% in the same period, he added. Ravindran faulted the calculation of production cost by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) as Rs 1,570 per tonne for the current year. Pointing out that the cost of production calculated by CACP was Rs 1,620 per tonne for the previous year, he wondered how the cost of production could come down when the input costs are going up. "Sugarcane farmers are shelling out up to Rs 1,500 per tonne for cutting alone," he said.
>From experience the cost of cultivation of sugarcane is Rs 2,750 per tonne and hence the price should be fixed at Rs 5,000 per tonne, Ravindran said. Only then will sugarcane farmers be safeguarded, he added. Owing to low prices, the sugar production in Tamil Nadu has come down to 10 lakh tonnes in 2023 from 23.5 lakh tonnes in 2011, he further said.
The Union government wants to supply cheap raw material to corporations but does not bother about the livelihood of farmers, he remarked. Sundara Vimalnathan, a farmer from Swamimalai, also expressed disappointment at the meagre increase in FRP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stated that by 2022 his government would double farmers’ income.
Based on this statement the FRP for sugarcane should have been fixed at Rs 4,600 this year as in 2016 the price was Rs 2,300 per tonne, he added. He also pointed out that sugar mills get profit not only by selling sugar but also by selling products like molasses, spirit and bagasse, which he said are not taken into account while arriving at the FRP for sugarcane. The government is serving private sugar mills at the cost of farmers, he added.