Govt fixes floor price of sugarcane at Rs 540 per quintal this year, an increase of Rs 20 per quintal

Published On: January 19, 2023 10:00 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

Farmers are not happy with the revised price

KATHMANDU, Jan 19: The government has fixed the minimum support price of sugarcane at Rs 540 per quintal, which is Rs 20 more than the floor price set for the last fiscal year.

A Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday decided to revise the floor price for the sugarcane producing farmers. The Cabinet took the decision on the recommendation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.

Speaking at a press meet, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel said the government in addition will be providing transport subsidies of Rs 70 per quintal to the farmers. Last year, the government fixed the minimum support price of sugarcane at Rs 520 per quintal and an additional Rs 70 in transport subsidy.

From 2018, the government started fixing the floor price of sugarcane in a bid to end the constant confrontation between sugarcane farmers and sugar producers. However, the government measures still fail to give respite to the farmers as most of the time sugar mills are found dilly-dallying in paying the farmers, while the government provided subsidies rarely reach the farmers on time.

The floor price is the minimum price farmers get for their crop, and it is normally announced before the harvest season starts for the agricultural product. This year, the government announcement has been delayed by over a month.

The new sugarcane price, however, fails to please the farmers. Kapil Muni Mainali, president of the Federation of Sugarcane Producers Associations, said they have been demanding the government to raise the floor price to at least Rs 700 per quintal. “Compared to the exorbitant price of sugar which costs around Rs 100 per kg, the raw material is far underpriced,” he said.

According to Mainali, many sugarcane producers have been switching to other agro production citing the low price they are offered for their product. The MoALD records show that the country produced 3.26 million tons of sugarcane in the fiscal year 2021/22.