Karnataka Farmers Set to Block Highways Over Sugar Price Demands

Farming organizations across Karnataka plan to stage highway blockades on Tuesday, demanding the central government raise the minimum selling price of sugar to Rs 60 per kilogram. The coordinated protests, scheduled to begin at 11 am, will take place in districts statewide.

Chunappa Pujeri, state president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, announced the action plan during a media briefing on Monday. The farmers are also pressing authorities to purchase the complete ethanol output from sugar production facilities, which they say would help sugarcane cultivators receive Rs 5,500 per tonne for their crops.

The protests follow a September demonstration at the home of Union Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pralhad Joshi in Hubballi, which led to a three-hour meeting in New Delhi. However, the minister requested an additional month to reach a decision, according to farming representatives.

Pujeri pointed to rising international sugar prices, now at Rs 55 per kilogram, as justification for better domestic rates. He criticized the delay in decision-making while government fuel and fertilizer prices have climbed without similar deliberation. With sugar factories preparing to start crushing operations within the week and drought conditions already impacting yields, farmers warn the situation is becoming increasingly urgent for those who have borrowed against family assets to finance cultivation.