Sugar mills in Maharashtra to pay FRP based on cane recovery for the same year
Sugar mills in Maharashtra have decided that the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) to sugarcane farmers will be paid on the basis of the recovery from the cane crushed during the particular sugar season. The decision came after a recent meeting between Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and sugar industry players. Pawar issued directions on the matter; however, the government has not issued an ordinance but only guidelines.
The meeting was organised by the State government with sugar millers to discuss FRP payments to farmers and was held in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. He noted that millers face serious difficulties in paying FRP strictly according to the cane extract, as the percentage of recovery changes from month to month.
Millers also placed on record their inability to make timely payments. They said that their expenses are constantly rising, and mills can only access loans by mortgaging sugar stock. In addition, they are bound by the compulsion of releasing sugar into the market as per the quota fixed by the government.
No clear court direction
Senior cooperative leader and MLA Dilip Walse Patil said that when the matter was taken to the Bombay High Court, the court did not provide a clear direction on which season’s recovery should be considered while calculating FRP. This, he added, has led to further confusion for millers as well as farmers.
At the same time, sugar mills in Maharashtra are fighting another critical battle — a demand for an increase in the Minimum Selling Price (MSP) of sugar. According to the Maharashtra State Co-operative Sugar Factories Federation Limited, failure to increase MSP in line with FRP has resulted in the permanent closure of a majority of sugar mills in the state.
Millers argue that a higher MSP would increase the value of their sugar stock, thereby making it possible for them to obtain higher loans from banks. The additional credit, in turn, would allow them to clear sugarcane payments to farmers in a more efficient manner.
Published on September 10, 2025
