The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which met here on Tuesday (May 5, 2026), increased the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane for the sugar season 2026-27 (October-September) by ₹10 for a quintal from the last crop year.
The new price will be ₹365 per quintal for a basic sugar recovery rate of 10.25%. The government will provide a premium of ₹3.56 per quintal for each 0.1% increase in recovery over and above 10.25% and will reduce ₹3.56 per quintal for each 0.1% decrease in recovery.
The government said in a press release that, with a view to protecting the interests of sugarcane farmers, it has also decided that there shall not be any deduction in case of sugar mills where recovery is below 9.5%. “Such farmers will get ₹338.3 per quintal for sugarcane in ensuing sugar season 2026-27,” the release added.
The FRP is higher by 100.5% over production cost, the government claimed. “The FRP for sugar season 2026-27 is 2.81% higher than current sugar season 2025-26,” it said.
Mission for Cotton
The Union Cabinet also approved ₹5,659.22 crore for “Mission for Cotton Productivity” (2026-27 to 2030-31) to address bottlenecks, declining growth, and quality concerns in the cotton sector. “The mission aligns with the 5F vision (farm to fibre to factory to fashion to foreign) of the Government of India. The mission focuses on enhancing cotton productivity through development of high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds resistant to disease and pests, scaling up of existing and latest crop production technologies through State governments, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) through large-scale promotion and adoption of latest crop production technologies, ensures least contaminant cotton supply to industry, and promote high-quality cotton exports...,” a release said.
The focus of the mission will be development of high-yielding, climate resilient, pest-resistant seeds, and other production/protection technologies, upscaling improved cotton production technologies like High Density Planting System (HDPS), Closer Spacing (CS), Integrated Cotton Management, and promotion of Extra Long Staple (ELS) Cotton and augmenting quality of cotton through capacity building and promoting modernisation of ginning and processing factories, including adoption of best processing practices.
Relief for sunflower farmers
The Union Government, meanwhile, decided to procure 9,023 metric tonne of sunflower at the minimum support price (MSP) in Karnataka for the rabi 2026 season. “Additionally, the government has increased the maximum procurement limit of gram in Maharashtra for the rabi 2025-26 season to 8,19,882 metric tonne. Together, these decisions will provide MSP support worth more than ₹4,886.46 crore to farmers,” the Union Agriculture Ministry said in a release.
Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan sanctioned the procurement of 9,023 metric tonne of sunflower under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) for the rabi 2026 season. “The total MSP value of this approval exceeds ₹69.66 crore. The decision is expected to ensure that sunflower farmers in Karnataka receive fair and remunerative prices for their produce,” the Ministry said.
Published - May 05, 2026 11:51 pm IST