Sugarcane rate hiked by Rs 40 a qtl in Punjab

Chandigarh, May 31. Punjab government today raised the state advisory price (SAP) of sugarcane by Rs 40 per quintal for the crushing season of 2013-14. Punjab has now fixed new SAP per quintal at Rs 290 for advanced variety, Rs 280 for medium and Rs 275 for late variety. A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting of Sugarcane Control Board chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here today, an official release said here. The SAP for 2012-13 cane crushing season are Rs 250, Rs 240 and Rs 235 per quintal for advanced, medium and late varieties respectively. The rate hike for cane comes after Punjab keeping its focus on enhancing more area under crops like sugarcane, cotton by reducing area under water-guzzling paddy crop. Punjab this season has plans to bring 92,000 hectares of land under cane as compared to 83,000 hectares brought in last season. On the demand of farmers, the Chief Minister asked the Financial Commissioner Development (FCD) to chalk out a plan to upgrade the Co-operative Sugar Mill Bhogpur by enhancing its crushing capacity. He also mentioned that the state government would make budgetary provisions in future to overcome the situation arising out of gap payments. Badal further said to facilitate farmers, Primary Agricultural societies (PASs) will provide sugarcane harvesting machinery to them at nominal rates for which the government had already initiated a plan to provide all types of agricultural equipments to PAS.