Outstanding dues of sugar mills towards farmers are going north in Uttar Pradesh. More specifically, these arrears have gone up to Rs 9803.46 crore in the state as on April 20.
Due to the slump in domestic and global market, sugar stocks have piled up and the record production in UP and other states have only aggravated the problem.
Five sugar mills in the state account for about half the cane arrears due to the farmers and are naturally on top of the list in terms of arrears, said a Cane department official.
Private sugar mills in the state owe Rs 8,869 crore to cane farmers. The Bajaj Hindustan Sugar limited, which runs 15 sugar mills, has arrears of Rs 2,709 crore, while Modi Sugar with two units, owes Rs 514 crore, Mawana Sugars Rs 436 crore, Simbhaoli Sugars Rs 383 crore and Rana Sugars Rs 364 crore.
The total 119 sugar mills operational in the state have so far paid 66 per cent of their dues. Of them, 19 mills have closed cane crushing. The 24 co-operative mills too owe Rs 970.73 crore and a corporation mill has to pay Rs 66 lakhs to cane growers.
During the 2017-18 season, cane crushing and sugar production in the state recorded a new high, but low price of sugar in the market has give a body blow to the mills which is said to be one of the reasons for accumulating dues.
UP Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) officials on Saturday said that the dues of cane farmers was Rs 9,802.46 crore, of which 94 private mills have to pay Rs 8832.67 crore.
The officials said that mills have paid 19,559.50 crore in the crushing season so far with private mills paying Rs 17,856.24 crore, cooperative mills Rs 1622.38 crore and a corporation mill Rs 80.88 crore to farmers so far.
Meanwhile, UP maintained its second spot in sugar production in the country after Maharashtra by producing over one crore metric ton with recovery percentage of 10.86 by crushing 9915.84 lakh quintal of cane in the current season. With 100 mills still crushing, the production is set to increase furtehr.
last season, the state produced 990.62 lakh quintal of sugar by crushing 9041.43 lakh quintal of cane.