Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) has stepped up the campaign for mounting pressure on the state government for the early fixation of the Sugarcane Advisory Price (SAP) for the current cane crushing season 2023-24. The SAP is yet to be announced even as the cane crushing commenced in Uttar Pradesh in November.
The BKU is organising panchayats at tehsil level in Western UP districts demanding the increase and announcement of the sugarcane price for the current season. BKU (Tikait faction) maintains that resentment prevails among the farmers over the delay in announcement of the SAP.
At present, SAP for common varieties of cane stands at Rs 340 per quintal, while the price for early and late maturing varieties is fixed at Rs 350 and Rs 335 per quintal, respectively. The Yogi government had last revised SAP in September 2021 before the 2022 assembly elections.
Official sources said ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections in 2024, Uttar Pradesh government was likely to order a significant increase in the SAP of sugarcane for the upcoming 2023-2024 season.
As per the estimates of the sugar industry the SAP is likely to be raised by Rs 25 per quintal. The hike in SAP could be easily absorbed by the industry as well as benefit the farmers as the price of sugar is ruling high in the domestic and international markets. The Union government has already banned the export of sugar for keeping the price of the commodity under check in the domestic market.
However, not everyone in the industry is convinced that such a substantial increase is likely to materialise.
A source in UP Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) said the customary deliberation on SAP in Uttar Pradesh usually took place in October, and an increase of Rs 25 per quintal at this stage would be unusually high. UPSMA sources further pointed out the deficient rainfall in Uttar Pradesh by 17-18% could adversely affect the sugar recovery.
“The rainfall deficit has undoubtedly impacted the yield and availability of sugar for crushing. The challenges faced by the sugar industry are multifaceted, with weather conditions being a critical factor affecting sugar production,” he said.
With the expected hike in SAP for 2023-24, the estimated payments for sugarcane farmers in Uttar Pradesh are likely to be over Rs 36,000 crore as the state gears up for the 2023-24 crushing season.
Although officially the cane crushing season (October-September) started on October 1, operations are expected to gain momentum in the coming weeks, starting from Western UP and gradually covering the entire state.
The state sugar production stood at nearly 10.7 million tonnes last year. Of the total 120 sugar mills in the state, the private sector leads with 93 plants, followed by the cooperative sector with 24, and UP state sugar corporation with three.
Nearly 4.5 million households are directly associated with sugarcane farming in the state. For the current crushing season, sugarcane area is estimated at 2.85 million hectares with production estimates standing at 235 million tonnes.
