No Plan to Hike Sugar MSP Under Consideration

01-Oct-2025 12:41 PM

New Delhi. The central government is not currently considering increasing the ex-factory minimum selling price (MSP) for sugar, nor is any proposal under consideration.

According to senior official sources, the ex-factory price of sugar is already high, so there is no need to increase the MSP. However, given the increase in the sugarcane fair and remunerative price (FRP), the industry is strongly urging an increase in the sugar MSP, but the government is currently unwilling to accept this proposal.

It is noteworthy that the central government has fixed the FRP for sugarcane, increasing it by ₹15, or 4.4 percent, from ₹340 per quintal for the 2024-25 season to ₹355 per quintal for the 2025-26 season (October-September).

Last year, after sugar prices softened due to improved production and high outstanding stocks, the industry had requested an increase in the MSP from the government, and this request is being made again this time.

However, the government instead allowed the industry to export 1 million tonnes of sugar in January, and domestic market prices subsequently improved significantly.

Sugar prices fell significantly during the second half of 2024, and the ex-factory price in Maharashtra fell to around ₹3,500-₹3,600 per quintal during November-December.

The government had been considering increasing the MSP since June last year and had even proposed fixing it at ₹3,550 per quintal, but this proposal was shelved when the MSP increased.

The ex-factory minimum selling price of sugar was last increased from ₹2,900 per quintal to ₹3,100 per quintal in February 2019, and there has been no change since.