New Delhi, May 26 -- In a major relief for Gujarat's cooperative sugar sector, the state government has officially approved the sugarcane prices paid by cooperative sugar societies to farmers between 2007-08 and 2014-15, Agriculture and Cooperation Minister Jitubhai Vaghani said on Monday.

The decision is expected to remove an estimated Rs.1,500 crore financial burden on sugar cooperative societies while directly benefiting more than two lakh sugarcane farmers across Gujarat.

Vaghani said Gujarat's cooperative sugar mills have traditionally paid farmers more than the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) fixed by the Centre by distributing earnings generated through by-products such as ethanol, molasses and co-generation power projects.

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