Punjab govt hikes sugarcane price by Rs 11 a qtl to Rs 391; now all eyes on UP

Punjab government has hiked sugarcane price by Rs 11 per quintal, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asserting that the new rate of Rs 391 a quintal is the highest in the country.

The announcement came days after the chief minister assured farmers of "good news" in the coming days. "With an increase of Rs 11, the new rate will be Rs 391 per quintal, which will be the highest in the country," Mann said in a post on social media platform X. "As far as increasing the rate of sugarcane goes, Punjab has always been ahead," Mann had said last week.

Earlier, farmers held protests demanding an increase in sugarcane price from Rs 380 per quintal to Rs 450 per quintal. Last Friday, farmers held a demonstration on a national highway in Jalandhar but decided to end their stir after Mann's assurance.

Protestors under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha had blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara section of the Jalandhar-New Delhi National Highway near Dhanowali village. The strike ended on the fourth day after a meeting between farmer leaders and the chief minister.

Neighbouring state Haryana had last month announced a hike of Rs 14 in the sugarcane price to Rs 386 a quintal. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had also announced that the SAP of sugarcane in the state for the next season 2024-25 will be Rs 400 per quintal. 

All eyes on UP

In Uttar Pradesh, which is one of the largest sugar producing states in the country, the government did not increase the SAP of sugarcane for the last season and kept it frozen at Rs 350 per quintal. Despite the commencement of crushing in sugar mills in the current season, the Uttar Pradesh government has not yet declared the SAP of sugarcane.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government's decision to increase sugarcane price by Rs 11 may impact other states as well. Before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, no government will want to draw the ire of sugarcane farmers. But, till now the country's leading sugarcane producing state Uttar Pradesh has not announced the sugarcane price. In UP, the price of sugarcane remains stuck at Rs 350 a quintal.

Sugarcane prices in UP have increased only once in the last five years and a significant increase is expected this year. While the industry has estimated the sugar production in the country to be the highest in the current season at 110 lakh tonnes, the total production has been estimated at 290 lakh tonnes.

Now, sugarcane growers in Uttar Pradesh are waiting anxiously for Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to raise the price of their produce in the country's major cane growing state.

Sugarcane, a profitable deal

This year, sugar production in the country is expected to decline by about 12 percent. In view of this, there will be a rise in the prices of sugar in the market. Apart from sugar, sugar mills are also earning well from ethanol and other products. In such a situation, increasing the price of sugarcane will not be a loss-making deal for the sugar mills.