New Delhi: The sugarcane farmers in Daurala in Uttar Pradesh are riding high on this year's profits as they got record rates for their cane in record time as well.
"I've got Rs 8-10 more per quintal. I sold all my cane to the mills," says Sanjay, a small time sugarcane farmer.
So what has brought about this change? Well, high price of sugar for one and the fact that mills are now selling ethanol - a by-product of sugar - to oil companies.
Because of rising crude prices, the government has permitted ethanol-blended petrol - that's bio fuel - in some states. And sensing profits, a growing number of private mills are now competing with each other to give cash incentives to farmers to get the best cane.
Sudhir Chandna, Senior Manager at Daurala Mill Distillery says,” We need more molasses. If the cost of production goes down, definitely it will be lucrative for us to produce more and sell to oil companies.
As of now five per cent ethanol mixed bio-fuel is permitted in about ten states including UP. But soon this demand will increase. Though the government is considering importing it from Brazil, experts don't agree.
"We should close our borders to import of ethanol. This will mean two things. Reduce prices of petrol. And help cane farmers also," says Devinder Sharma, an expert.
While sugarcane will be the one crop, which mills will now queue up to buy, farmers know that their profits will be as sweet as their crop.
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