Suggest reforms to make the sugarcane–sugar pricing ecosystem in India sustainable for farmers, mills and consumers.

India's sugar sector rests on a chain of prices. The Centre fixes the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of cane, which is ₹365/qtl for 2026-27 at 10.25% recovery [1]. Mills earn from the ex-mill Minimum Selling Price (MSP) of sugar and from the market. The Centre has now set up a Ramesh Chand panel after farmers from Karnataka and Maharashtra demanded a higher cane price [2]. That shows the chain is under strain, and every link needs reform.

Reforms for farmers

• Cost-indexed FRP: The FRP rose about 2.8% over the 2025-26 rate of ₹355 [1][3]. It should be indexed openly to cultivation costs, which is the panel's first term of reference [2].
• Transparent recovery testing: Each 0.1-point change in recovery moves the price by ₹3.56/qtl [1]. Mills should use independent sampling and publish results for each mill.
• Tamper-proof weighment: Electronic weighbridges should issue instant digital receipts, which addresses the panel's weighment mandate [2].
• Retain the floor: The rule of no deduction below 9.5% recovery should stay, because it protects low-recovery belts [1].

Reforms for mills

• Revenue-sharing formula: Cane price should be linked to sugar realisation and backed by a Price Stabilisation Fund, as the NITI Aayog Task Force recommended [4].
• Periodic revision of the sugar MSP: The MSP should be aligned with the FRP and the cost of output [2][4]. This keeps cane-price hikes from turning into arrears.
• Diversified income: Mills can divert sugar to ethanol under the blending programme to steady their cash flows. This helps them pay farmers on time.

Reforms for consumers

• Targeted stock and trade tools: The government raised the stock limit for bulk consumers to 30 days only for sugar imported under AAS/TRQ. Open-market purchases remain capped at 15 days [5]. This adds supply without encouraging hoarding.
• Weekly stock disclosure: Mandatory disclosure on the DFPD portal [5] helps keep retail prices stable.

Systemic reforms

• Water sustainability: Farmers should be encouraged to adopt drip irrigation and to diversify crops in stressed basins, a long-term aim of the Task Force [4].
• Centre–State coordination: Centre and States should harmonise the FRP and State Advised Prices so that mills in different States face comparable costs.

Farmers need fair and verifiable payments, mills need viable margins, and consumers need stable prices, so these interests have to be balanced together. A rule-based formula linking cane, sugar and ethanol prices, with transparent measurement at the mill gate, can achieve this. Such a framework would advance SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and turn a recurring dispute into a self-correcting system.