Sugar mills owe Rs 3,365 cr to farmers in Karnataka

New Delhi: Sugar mills owe Rs 15,504 crore to sugarcane farmers up to March 5 of the current marketing year, starting October 2024.

In Karnataka alone, sugar factories have to pay Rs 3,365 crore to the farmers. This is the second highest in the country.  

The total outstanding dues payable to the farmers stand at Rs 15,504 crore in the country, according to a written reply provided by the Centre.

In this, Uttar Pradesh sugar mill owners owe Rs 4,793 crore to the farmers, followed by Karnataka (Rs 3,365 crore), Maharashtra (Rs 2,949 crore) and Gujarat (Rs 1,454 crore).

The sugar factories in Karnataka have cleared all dues to farmers till the 2023-24 fiscal.

The sugarcane season, planting and harvesting, runs from October to March in the country. “Payment of cane dues to farmers is a continuous process and payment by the sugar mills to the farmers are being made regularly, resulting in a reduction of the dues,” Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhaniya said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

To facilitate payment to the farmers, the minister said the Centre has taken various measures, including fixing the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane. It has allowed the diversion of surplus sugar to ethanol production, she said.

The government has allowed the export of 10 lakh tonnes during the current 2024-25 sugar marketing year (October- September) to prevent a fall in ex-mill prices of sugar and accumulation of cane price arrears. It has also fixed the Minimum Selling Price of sugar at Rs 31/kg, the minister claimed.

“As a result of these measures, a significant reduction has been seen in cane price arrears. Up to sugar seasons 2023-24, more than 99.9% of cane dues have been cleared and in the current sugar season 2024-25, more than 80% of dues have been cleared as on March 5, 2025,” the minister said.

Sugar industry body ISMA (Indian Sugar and Bio-Energy Manufacturers’ Association) has revised net production estimates of the sweetener downwards to 264 lakh tonnes in the current marketing year ending September.

As of March 10, 2025, in the current 2024-25 marketing year, sugar production has reached 233.09 lakh tonnes, with 228 mills currently operational across the country.