Sugar prices in Maharashtra have dropped below the minimum support price (MSP) due to poor demand, leading millers to sell at prices below the floor price to make cane payments to farmers. Factors such as a high opening balance, delayed export programme, and an increase in sugarcane cultivation area have contributed to the fall in prices. As a result, sugar mills in Maharashtra owe farmers Rs 351.54 crore in arrears. The sluggish market conditions, further exacerbated by Covid-19 and reduced consumption, have left mills located near the Karnataka border struggling to find traditional markets and are forced to sell older stocks at lower prices to match prices offered by millers in Uttar Pradesh.