Punjab sugarcane costliest in the country but Maharashtra cane has more sugar
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Friday hiked the sugarcane price by Rs 11 per quintal, saying the new rate of Rs 391 a quintal is the highest in the country. The hike is Rs 3 more than what was recommended by the Ludhiana-based Punjab Agricultural University. The farmers unions who had been demanding a Rs 70 per quintal increase, however, rejected the hike as “too little” and warned that they will again be forced to protest if the government does not effect the price rise “as promised”.
Earlier, Mann took to X to announce the hike. “Today is an auspicious day for the farmers of Punjab, as the price of the sugarcane has been increased by Rs 11. The rate of the sugarcane is Rs 391, which is the highest in the country,” Mann said.
According to an official statement issued later, Mann said, in Punjab Rs 11 is considered as a ‘shubh shagun’ (good luck token) so his government has given this gift to the farmers. Mann further said that he has fulfilled the promise he had made during his recent meeting with the farmers. Mann said in the coming days “Punjabis will get more such good news”.
The farmers, who had been protesting for four days in Jalandhar demanding that the state advised price (SAP) of sugarcane be hiked from Rs 380 per quintal to Rs 450 per quintal, had called off their dharna after meeting Mann who had assured them of “good news” very soon. The farmers were also demanding that the sugar mills in the state be made operational immediately.
Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal was quick to reject the hike. “It is too little. I was abroad and have just reached Punjab. We will soon hold a meeting to announce the further course of action,” said Rajewal.
BKU (Doaba) president Manjit Singh Rai said, “The hike in price is too meagre. It is a betrayal with farmers. We are not happy with the price increase”.
“During our meeting with the chief minister in Chandigarh last week, he had said Haryana has recently increased cane prices by Rs 14 per quintal and had assured that Punjab’s increase will be by more than Rs 14 per quintal. So, we were expecting the hike to be at least Rs 400 plus,” Rai said, adding farmers will again be forced to protest if the government does not hike cane prices “as promised”.
Rajewal said sugarcane farming was not a profitable proposition in Punjab. “That is why the sugarcane growers are turning away from the crop. The input cost here is more than any other state,” he added.
On the farmers’ protests inconveniencing people, Rajewal said, “When governments do not listen, what will farmers do? They are forced to resort to different means of protest to shake the government up”.
Meanwhile, Mann said all private and cooperative sugar mills will start crushing sugarcane at the revised prices from Saturday (December 2).
In neighbouring Haryana, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on November 6 had announced a Rs 14 per quintal hike taking the rates to Rs 386 per quintal. Khattar had effected a Rs 10 hike earlier in the year too. Khattar had also announced that the sugarcane prices will be hiked to Rs 400 per quintal the next year. Assembly elections are slated to be held in Haryana in October, 2024.
Contacted, Rana Inder Partap Singh of Rana Sugars said that out of the Rs 11 hike, the private crushers will have to bear nearly Rs 5.50. “It will mean an additional Rs 50 crore burden on the industry,” he added.
The sugar industry also rues that the sucrose content in Punjab’s sugarcane is less compared to other states like Maharashtra. While the farmers blame it on extreme cold conditions, experts say that the agriculturists in Punjab harvest their crop early. “If they harvest it after December, the sucrose content will be higher,” an expert said.
The percentage realisation of sugar from sugarcane grown in Punjab is about 8% while the same in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu is up to 14%. Industrialists say that this affects the quality of sugar and its price. “Moreover, the price of sugar is dependent on the national average. We cannot sell sugar at higher prices than it is available in the market,” said an industrialist.
Meanwhile, members of various farmer unions in Doaba zone, led by Gurnam Singh, staged a dharna and blocked vehicular traffic at Dugri Chowk near Mukerian Sugar Mill, about 65 kilometres from Hoshiarpur.
Singh said that the protest was in response to the “non-operation” of sugar mills in the state and dissatisfaction with the “meagre hike” in the sugarcane prices.
The protesters gathered in front of Mukerian Sugar Mill in the afternoon and staged a dharna. Later, they moved to Dugri Chowk and blocked vehicular traffic by parking tractor-trailers across the road.
Singh said the farmers in the Mukerian belt, who suffered heavy losses due to floods during the rainy season this year, are still awaiting compensation for their damaged property, including crops. The floods had damaged their standing sugarcane crop also, he said.
On Friday last week, farmers held a demonstration on a national highway in Jalandhar but decided to end their stir after Mann’s assurance. “As far as increasing the rate of sugarcane goes, Punjab has always been ahead,” Mann had said last week.
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