Kathmandu, Dec. 9 -- The government has fixed the minimum support price for this season's sugarcane harvest at Rs620 per quintal, an increase of Rs35 from last year. Monday's Cabinet meeting also set the subsidy for cane farmers at Rs70 per quintal.

On July 7, the Cabinet had slashed the subsidy to Rs35, cutting it by half from the previous Rs70. The then KP Sharma Oli administration said the decision was driven by pressure on the treasury.

The sugarcane subsidy was introduced in 2018 after farmers complained that mill owners were paying rates too low to cover rising production costs.

Sugarcane harvest in Nepal typically begins in mid-November. Although it is the country's largest commercial cash crop, farmers say they continue to stru...