Daund cane farmers seek ₹4,500 a tonne as first instalment

Daund: With preparations under way for the cane crushing season in Daund taluka, the question of cane prices has come to the fore. Four factories will crush the taluka's cane: Daund Sugars, Shreenath Mhaskoba, the Onkar Group's unit at Yavat and Bhima-Patas, run by the Nirani Group. Given higher production costs and the water shortage, farmers want a first instalment of at least ₹4,500 a tonne this year.

Jaggery units are currently said to be paying about ₹3,500 to ₹3,800 a tonne, which farmers feel is too little for what it costs them to grow cane.

Many parts of the taluka face water shortages this year, and farmers will have to use what water they have sparingly over the next three months to carry the crop through. If they do not get a fair price after spending heavily on the crop, their finances could collapse.

Farmers should weigh what each factory will pay, how much the first instalment will be and how later payments will be made before supplying cane, some say. Announcing prices before harvesting begins would make planning easier, and the taluka is watching what the factories will offer.

Source: Pudhari