Sugar price surge: Karnataka farmers seek nod for jaggery units to produce ethanol
Sugarcane farmers in Karnataka are demanding government permission for local jaggery units to produce ethanol to increase their income and reduce dependency on large sugar mills. This request follows a surge in sugar prices, which some stakeholders attribute to the government's ethanol blending policy for petrol.
Why it matters
The debate highlights the tension between national energy policies, food security, and the economic autonomy of small-scale agricultural producers in India.
The surge in sugar prices, amid reports of sugarcane being diverted for ethanol production , has renewed demand by farmers for permission to allow jaggery units in Karnataka to produce ethanol, even as the food industry has urged the government to intervene immediately to rein in prices.
Although the Centre has rejected suggestions that the rise in sugar prices is due to diversion of sugarcane for ethanol production, farmers’ outfits and food industry representatives allege that the government’s policy of increasing the proportion of ethanol blending in petrol is putting pressure on the availability of sugar in the domestic market.
Why is there a sudden increase in sugar prices? | Explained
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