Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) chief and former MP Raju Shetti has announced a sugarcane farmers’ morcha at the Solapur district collectorate on November 16, demanding higher cane prices for farmers in the district.
Shetti made the announcement at a meeting with over 4,000 sugarcane farmers in Pandharpur on Sunday. The farmers urged him to put pressure on all 39 sugar mills in Solapur district to increase the price paid for sugarcane.
“The Solapur cane farmers want the sugar mills to replicate the Kolhapur model that was decided recently after our agitation. If they do not act fast, then I will lead a massive morcha of the cane farmers from all the 11 talukas of Solapur on November 16,” Shetti told HT.
He said that if the morcha failed to yield results, the SSS could stage a road blockade on the Solapur-Hyderabad highway at Pandharpur and call a district-wide bandh.
Shetti recently led a three-day agitation that blocked the Pune-Bengaluru highway, forcing sugar mill management in Kolhapur to agree to a cane purchase price of ₹4,200 per tonne. Shetti said farmers had told him that sugar mills in Solapur were paying between ₹2,800 and ₹3,000 per tonne for sugarcane.
Solapur is a major sugar-producing district in Maharashtra, having crushed over 15.50 million metric tonnes of sugarcane during the 2025-26 crushing season.
{{/usCountry}}Solapur is a major sugar-producing district in Maharashtra, having crushed over 15.50 million metric tonnes of sugarcane during the 2025-26 crushing season.
{{/usCountry}}“The Solapur cane farmers are furious with such low prices despite being a major sugar production centre in the state,” said the SSS leader.
Shetti said the Solapur district administration had organised a meeting on cane prices two days ago, but none of the sugar mill owners attended it.
“While the representatives of the cane farmers attended the meeting, the sugar mill owners sent a letter saying that they would pay ₹3000 per ton as the first instalment. The cane farmers have rejected it,” he added.
The Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation (MSCSFF), however, said several sugar mills in the state, including those in Solapur, were facing financial distress as the Centre had not increased the minimum selling price of sugar for over six years.
“On the other hand, the production cost of sugar, including transportation, has gone up by 25-30%. An increase in the purchase price would further deteriorate the fiscal health of the sugar factories,” MSCSFF officials said.