Farmers’ Stir Halts Sugar Production Across North Karnataka as Price Dispute Escalates

Thousands of sugarcane farmers across North Karnataka escalated their indefinite agitation on Wednesday, blocking highways and factory gates in Belagavi, Bagalkot, and Vijayapura districts, effectively paralysing crushing operations at 26 private sugar mills and bringing the region’s ₹15,000-crore sugar industry to a grinding halt. Demanding a minimum price of ₹3,500 per tonne—up from last year’s ₹3,200—protesters under the banner of the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS) and other farmer unions have vowed not to allow a single cane-laden truck inside factory premises until Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announces a higher Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) before the November 10 deadline.

Factory owners, represented by the South Indian Sugar Mills Association and the Karnataka Sugar Mills Association, have flatly refused to cross the ₹3,200 mark, arguing that ethanol blending mandates, crashing sugar prices at ₹33-34 per kg, and a 40% jump in labour and transport costs since 2023 have already pushed most units into the red. “We lost ₹400 crore last season alone,” said a top executive of a leading Belagavi mill, adding that paying ₹3,500 would force at least eight mills to shut down permanently. With the crushing season already delayed by three weeks, over 1.8 lakh tonnes of harvested cane lie rotting in fields, translating to daily farmer losses of ₹58 crore.

The stalemate has spilt onto major highways—NH-48, SH-20, and the Belagavi-Gokak road—where farmers have parked tractors and bullock carts, burning effigies of mill owners and raising slogans against “corporate exploitation”. In Mudalgi, police used a mild lathi charge to disperse a 5,000-strong crowd trying to storm Renuka Sugars, while similar standoffs were reported at Jamkhandi, Mudhol, and Athani. The agitation has also hit 42,000 mill workers, who face wage cuts as factories bleed ₹2.5 crore daily in fixed overheads without cane supply.

Also Read: Sugarcane Farmers Shut Down Belagavi as Protests Sweep Karnataka’s Sugar Belt

With the Congress government caught between its pro-farmer poll promises and pressure from industry donors, Revenue Minister Krishna Byregowda held marathon talks in Bengaluru on Tuesday but failed to break the deadlock. Farmers have rejected the state’s earlier offer of ₹3,300 plus a ₹100 transport subsidy, warning of a statewide bandh on November 8 if their demand is not met. As North Karnataka’s cane belt simmers, the sweet harvest of 2025 has turned bitterly sour, threatening both rural livelihoods and Karnataka’s position as India’s second-largest sugar producer behind Uttar Pradesh.

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