Centre increases Fair and Remunerative Price on sugarcane

Tags: National News

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in its meeting on 3 August has approved the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for sugar season 2022-23 (October-September) to Rs 305 per quintal.

Important facts

• The Cabinet has approved the highest ever Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of Rs 305 per quintal for sugarcane farmers.

• The FRP for sugar season 2022-23 is 2.6 per cent higher than the current sugar season 2021-22.

• The FRP of Rs 305 per quintal is linked to the basic recovery rate of 10.25 per cent.

• Recovery rate is the amount of sugar that sugarcane fetches and higher the quantum of sugar derived from sugarcane, greater the price it fetches in the market.

• This decision will benefit five crore sugarcane farmers and their dependents as well as five lakh workers employed in sugar mills and allied activities.

What is Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)? 

• It is the price declared by the government at which the mills are legally bound to pay for the sugarcane procured from the farmers.

• The payment of FRP across the country is governed by the Sugarcane Control Order, 1966.

• Under this, payment is mandatory within 14 days from the date of delivery of sugarcane.

Major sugarcane-producing states

• Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka account for nearly 80 percent of the total sugar production in the country.

• The other major sugarcane-producing states are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Haryana, and Punjab.

• India is the world’s second-largest sugar producer after Brazil.

• Since 2010-11, India has consistently produced surplus sugar, comfortably exceeding the domestic requirements.