Government sets up panel to examine sugarcane farmers’ demands and sugar pricing

New Delhi: The Centre has constituted a committee headed by former NITI Aayog member Prof. Ramesh Chand to examine key concerns raised by sugarcane farmers, including remunerative cane prices, sugar pricing and deductions made during weighment of mechanically harvested cane.

The committee was formed following a meeting between representatives of sugarcane farmers from Karnataka and Maharashtra and the Union Ministers for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, and Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

One of the panel’s key tasks will be to examine farmers’ demand for higher returns from sugarcane cultivation, taking into account production costs and other relevant factors. It will also review the ex-mill minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar in relation to sugar production costs, market realisations and the financial viability of sugar mills.

The committee will assess existing systems for measuring and reporting sugar recovery at mills, along with mechanisms for independent verification and transparency. Sugar recovery is an important factor in determining the relationship between the quantity of cane processed and the sugar produced.

The panel will also examine sugarcane weighment practices, including the calibration, inspection and verification of weighing equipment at mills. It will review deductions applied to mechanically harvested sugarcane and assess whether these reflect actual losses, as well as their financial impact on payments received by farmers.

The committee may consider other related issues and will consult farmers’ representatives, sugar mill associations, state governments and relevant experts before submitting its findings and recommendations to the competent authority.

Prof. Ramesh Chand, an agricultural economist and public policy expert, served as a member of NITI Aayog from 2015 to 2026. He has also headed the ICAR-National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research and served as a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission.

The committee includes the Agriculture Commissioner in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the Joint Secretary (Sugar) in the Department of Food and Public Distribution, and the Joint Secretary (Legal Metrology) in the Department of Consumer Affairs.

The panel’s findings are expected to inform the government’s consideration of farmers’ concerns around cane prices, sugar industry economics and the transparency of measurement and payment practices. The government has asked the committee to submit its report as early as possible.