Belagavi sugarcane price set at Rs 3,600 a tonne; crushing to start

Sugar factories in Karnataka's Belagavi district will pay farmers Rs 3,600 a tonne for sugarcane in the 2026-27 season, after talks chaired by Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi, and a major farmers' group said it had accepted the price and would let the crushing season begin from Friday, 6 November 2026. The price emerged from a late-night meeting between farmers and factory representatives on Tuesday, 3 November, up from an initial offer of Rs 3,500, and was announced on Thursday, 5 November. Factories also agreed to a profit-sharing formula linked to any rise in sugar prices, according to reports. Some farmer groups have kept up their protest, demanding a formal declaration and the same price across the state.

Sugarcane farmers in northern Karnataka have been protesting for weeks over the price they are paid, with bandhs and "Jail Bharo" (court arrest) agitations in Belagavi. Until a price is fixed, many farmers refuse to send cane, and factories cannot begin crushing. The Belagavi deal lets crushing start, at least in that district.

The price of Rs 3,600 a tonne is well below the Rs 5,500 that unions demanded, but above the factories' first offer. The profit-sharing formula is the more unusual part. If sugar prices rise, farmers are to get most of the extra money, according to reports. That links what farmers earn more closely to what mills earn from selling sugar.

The wider dispute is with the Centre. Factories say they cannot pay more because the minimum selling price of sugar, set by the Union government, has been stuck at Rs 31 a kilogram since February 2019. Karnataka has asked the Centre to raise it and to change ethanol policy to help cane farmers. The farmers' movement has set 26 November as its deadline for the Centre to raise the sugar price, according to reports.

The Belagavi settlement is also limited by geography. Jarkiholi said the price applies only to Belagavi's mills. Farmers elsewhere in Karnataka want the same deal, and some groups in Belagavi itself want the minister to announce it formally at their protest site, so the agitation is not fully over.

Peepals calculation: Rs 3,600 a tonne equals Rs 360 a quintal (one tonne = 10 quintals). It is Rs 100, or about 2.9%, above the factories' first offer of Rs 3,500 (100 ÷ 3,500), and about 65% of the Rs 5,500 that unions demanded (3,600 ÷ 5,500 ≈ 0.655). Under the reported 75:25 sharing formula, for every Rs 100 of extra gain from higher sugar prices, farmers would get Rs 75 and factories Rs 25. Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: Crushing can begin at Belagavi's sugar mills from 6 November, and farmers who accept the deal can start sending cane. Protests may continue in parts of the district and elsewhere in Karnataka.

Long-term: If the profit-sharing formula works, it could become a model for linking cane prices to sugar prices in other districts. The bigger question, the Centre's sugar minimum selling price, remains open.

Who is affected: Sugarcane farmers in Belagavi and across north Karnataka; sugar factories and their workers; and the state and central governments, which face pressure to revise cane and sugar prices.

What to watch next: The farmers' movement's 26 November deadline for the Centre to raise the minimum selling price of sugar.

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