Why are sugarcane farmers angry

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Protests by farmers demanding higher sugarcane prices disrupted parliament on Thursday, November 19, 2009, forcing the government to rethink its stand on cane pricing.

The protests have also delayed the start of crushing in the country's biggest cane growing state, Uttar Pradesh, threatening to aggravate a sugar shortage in the world's top consumer of the sweetener.

Sugarcane farmers lay siege to Delhi

WHY ARE CANE FARMERS ANGRY?

Farmers say that sugar prices have doubled this year, earning twice as much for mills as they did last year. Farmers think that cane prices should be raised to match.

The cane that turned bitter: Full coverage

In Uttar Pradesh, the country's second-biggest sugar producer, cane prices have gone up by 60 percent, which farmers say is inadequate.

Text: Reuters

Images: Copyright AP. Any unauthrorised reproduction is prohibited.

Image: Sugarcane farmers crowd a flyover as they return after a protest against the new sugarcane pricing policy of the government and to demand an increase in procurement prices, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. Thousands of sugarcane farmers gathered from various northern Indian states for the protest, crippling traffic movement in the heart of the country’s capital.