After a long wait, the Uttar Pradesh government has finally announced an increase in sugarcane price by Rs 20 per quintal for the current crushing season (2023-24). In the state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday, it was decided to increase the State Advisory Price (SAP) of sugarcane by Rs 20 per quintal for the current crushing season 2023-24. However, farmers were expecting higher sugarcane prices in the election year. In the current year sugar production is expected to decline due to reduction in sugarcane production in major sugar producing state of Maharashtra and Karnataka, sugar mills are also earning through ethanol, a by product of sugar.
Now the SAP of early maturing variety of sugarcane in Uttar Pradesh will increase from Rs 350 per quintal to Rs 370 per quintal. Whereas in the neighboring state of Haryana, the sugarcane SAP for current season has been declared at Rs 386 per quintal and in Punjab it is at Rs 391 per quintal. Earlier, before the 2022 assembly elections, the UP government had increased the sugarcane SAP by Rs 25 per quintal for 2021-22 crushing season. In seven years it is the third increase made by UP government in the SAP. For remaining four years SAP was kept freeze. Thus, overall sugarcane price has increased by Rs 55 in seven years. This year, sugarcane farmers of UP were demanding at least Rs 400 per quintal sugarcane price. Due to higher demand for sugarcane and low yield, jaggery and khandsari units in Western UP are paying a price of Rs 375 to Rs 400 per quintal to the farmers. In this scenerio there are chances of price war for sugrcane among Gur and Khandsari units and sugar mills to get more sugarcane.