A sugar-coated crisis: Cane dues to farmers touch all-time high

Overproduction of sugarcane and crashing retail prices is causing cane dues to farmers touch all-time highs

Sugar factories belonging to the private, cooperative and government sectors have one common objective: that is, to pay farmers for supplies of sugarcane within the government-stipulated two-week period so that they don’t migrate to other crops. Failure to do so creates unrest among farmers in the captive cane zones from where factories are under law required to accept all the cane that is brought to their gate. Factories will always be desperate to avoid a situation that invites a government reprimand as has now happened and crimps the capacity of farmers to settle their liabilities.

Cane arrears of factories in