By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Jan. 7: The government has fixed the minimum support price of sugarcane at Rs. 590 per quintal for the current fiscal year.
A Cabinet meeting on Wednesday approved the minimum farm gate price of sugarcane tabled by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies for approval, informed Minister for Communication of Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki while making the decisions public on Thursday.

The government fixed the minimum retail price of sugarcane based on the cost of production, transportation, profit and subsidy provided by the government to the sugarcane farmers.
The price includes a government subsidy of Rs. 70 per quintal paid to sugarcane farmers.
The price paid by the sugar factory to the farmers is Rs. 520 per quintal in which the minimum cost of sugarcane is Rs. 382, transportation cost is Rs. 62 and profit is Rs. 76.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development had held several discussions with farmers and the sugar factory to determine the price of sugarcane.

According to the Ministry, it has recommended the minimum support price of sugar analysing the cost of production and other variables. The support price has increased by Rs. 45.67 per quintal this year.
Officials of the Ministry said that the Ministry had fixed the minimum support price scientifically by analysing cost of production, transportation and profit.
The team of the Ministry had analysed the cost of sugarcane production by inspecting the sugarcane farms of more than 300 farmers in 10 districts.

The government had fixed the support price of sugarcane at Rs. 544.33 per quintal, including Rs. 65 per quintal subsidy for the farmers last fiscal year.
Kapil Muni Mainali, Chairman of Nepal Sugarcane Producers' Association, expressed dissatisfaction over the minimum sugarcane price fixed by the government.
“We have requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to fix the minimum support price of sugarcane at a minimum of Rs. 650 per quintal for this year anaysing the increasing cost of production. But, the government did not address our demand though it increased the price this year,” he said.

According to him, farmers have demanded an increase in the subsidy amount to Rs. 85 per quintal from existing Rs. 65.  
The sugar factories have already started crushing sugarcane prior to the government fixing the minimum price.