Centre raises sugarcane price to Rs.230 per quintal

New Delhi, Jan 16: The government Friday set a "fair and remunerative" price of Rs.230 per quintal payable by mills to sugarcane farmers for the 2015-16 marketing season. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the decision at a meeting here. According to an official statement after the cabinet meeting, fair and remunerative price of sugarcane payable by sugar mills for 2014-15 crushing season will be Rs.230 per quintal of cane linked to a basic recovery rate of 9.5 percent. For the 2014-15 sugar season, the fair and remunerative price was fixed at Rs.220 per quintal. The sugar marketing season starts from October. “This shall be subject to a premium of Rs.2.42 per quintal for every 0.1 percentage point increase in recovery above that level,” the statement said. While the central government fixes a Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane, state governments are free to determine the price they want sugar mills to pay to the farmers for cane.