There was a time when sugar was the only thing that came out of a sugar mill. Today, the same mills also make ethanol, bio-CNG, electricity, molasses, bagasse, and even green energy. The sugar industry has changed completely — but the law that controls it is still from the 1960s.
That old system may finally end. The Central Government has proposed a new Sugar (Control) Order, 2025, to replace the outdated Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966. If this reform is done sincerely, it can end 60 years of unfair treatment of sugarcane farmers, and make cane farming profitable again — especially in Punjab.
What the New Draft Says
The new draft makes many important changes:
· The price of sugarcane (called Fair and Remunerative Price or FRP) will now depend on total income from all products — sugar, ethanol, power, molasses, and bagasse — not just sugar.
· Sugar mills must pay farmers within 14 days of buying the cane, so that payments are not delayed for months.
· The 15-kilometre rule, which stopped new mills from opening near old ones, will be removed. This will bring competition and better prices for farmers.
· Small units that make gur, khandsari, and raw sugar will now also come under regulation.
· The government will connect every sugar mill’s computer system to a national portal to track real-time data on production and payments.
In short, this reform will make the system more open and fair. It will also give farmers a share in the growing ethanol and biofuel business, not just in sugar profits.
Is former Member of Punjab Public Service Commission
A farmer and keen observer of current affairs
Punjab’s Cane Crisis
Punjab once had a big sugarcane belt — in Gurdaspur, Batala, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Phagwara, and Nawanshahr. But today, much of it has decreased.
The area under cane has fallen from 1.1 lakh hectares to less than 90,000 hectares in twenty years. Many sugar mills are old, payments are much delayed, and recovery rates are low due to inefficiencies and aging plants although new plants have been added at Batala and Gurdaspur Cooperative Sugar Mills.
The current State Advised Price (SAP) in Punjab is ₹401 per quintal, once the highest in India, but now Haryana has moved ahead with ₹415. Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa has asked the Punjab government to raise it to ₹450 per quintal.
The demand is fair.
Why Farmers Left Sugarcane
Sugarcane farming became too difficult for most farmers. Harvesting depends on migrant labourers, who are now fewer and costlier. Farmers have to arrange tractors, trailers, diesel, and transport in chilling and foggy nights.
After reaching the mill, they wait for a token (parchi) and then stand in long queues for 24 to 48 hours to unload. Tractors stand idle, labourers stay awake all night, and time and money are wasted.
Compared to this, wheat and paddy are simple — easy to harvest, easy to sell, and payments come on time. That’s why many farmers left sugarcane even though it gives good yields.
A Memory from My Childhood
We also grew sugarcane when I was a child. I remember those busy months clearly. A large group, almost a Battalion, of Bihari labourers would come to our village every year for the cane season. My grandmother and mother took special care to pamper them that they are properly fed.
We had five or six tractor-trolleys working day and night. Drivers carried blankets and quilts because they had to wait for hours in the cold at sugar mill gates. If Batala Sugar Mill didn’t give a token, our cane went to Bhogpur, Phagwara, or Nawanshahr — like a war of patience.
And after all that, payments came after a year or even two. Finally, we stopped growing sugarcane. Maybe, if the system improves and mills take over harvesting, we might grow it again. It was a tough crop — but also a beautiful one.
How Mills Can Help
Cane-harvesting machines are very costly. Only sugar mills can buy and use them. The new policy should allow mills to take care of harvesting and transport.
Mills can offer two prices — one for cane delivered to the mill, and one (slightly lower) for cane picked up from the field. This would help farmers and also improve the quality of cane, because crushing will happen faster. Once the 15-km restriction is gone, new mills will compete — giving farmers better service and faster payments.
A Year-Round Opportunity
Sugar mills run only for 3–4 months in a year. For the rest of the year, expensive machines lie idle.
They can stay busy by processing maize, beetroot, sweet sorghum, or even certain bamboo varieties that produce more ethanol than sugarcane. This will give mills steady income, and farmers more options instead of growing water-hungry paddy.