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Haryana govt yet to announce approved price for sugarcane
Following ₹ 20 hike by Punjab, Haryana farmer unions demand the government to increase the SAP to ₹ 400 from ₹ 362
: The Haryana government is yet to fix state approved price (SAP) for sugarcane for the year 2022-23 even as crushing operations are set to start from next month.
However, officials privy to the information said that the decision to increase the SAP was not taken in the annual meeting of the Sugarcane Control Board held on September 7 as the sugar mills were not in favour of increasing the sugarcane prices, citing that the state was already providing the highest ₹ 362 per quintal for early maturing varieties of sugarcane and ₹355 per quintal for late maturing varieties.
Last year, the Haryana government had announced a ₹ 12 hike in the SAP on September 10.
Earlier this month, the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government announced ₹ 20 per quintal increase in the SAP, thus raising it to ₹ 380 per quintal.
Now, farmer leaders in Haryana are demanding the government to increase the sugarcane SAP to ₹ 400 per quintal as the state is known for the highest sugarcane prices for the past several years.
Hardeep Singh, director general, agriculture, said that during the meeting of the Sugarcane Control Board, it was decided that there will be no increase in the prices of sugarcane as the state was providing the highest prices to its farmers.
“But now it is learnt the Punjab government has increased the prices further and the department will take up the issue with the higher authorities,” he told HT.
Even the officials privy to the information said that after Punjab, Haryana government may increase the sugarcane prices as last year, the then Congress government in Punjab had announced a ₹50 per quintal hike in the SAP of sugarcane to ₹360 per quintal, the BJP government in Haryana had fixed it to ₹ 362 –which was ₹ 2 per quintal more than Punjab and the highest in the country.
“Haryana government may keep the sugarcane prices above Punjab, thus a hike of ₹ 19 is likely to keep it at ₹ 381 per quintal. This will help Haryana to retain the tag of providing highest prices,” said an officer of the state agriculture department, pleading anonymity.
On the other hand, farmer leaders are demanding the government to fix the SAP to ₹ 400 per quintal, saying that this year, the input cost has increased due to diseases and pest attacks.
“The chief minister should intervene immediately as the prices of sugarcane be increased to ₹ 400 as most of the sugarcane crop in the state was badly affected due to diseases like top-borer, red-rot and pookah boeng. The farmers had to spend ₹ 15,000 per acre more to protect the crop,” said Satpal Kaushik, a sugarcane farmers’ leader from Yamunanagar.
Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait), Haryana, president Ratan Mann said that the BKU had recently called a state level panchayat at Karnal Sugarmill on October 12 and the famers have demanded the government to increase the prices above ₹ 400 per quintal as the sugarcane crop is no more profitable due to sudden fall in the yield due to diseases in the high yielding variety of Cos 238.
