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Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The Uttar Pradesh government has kept the state-advised price of sugarcane for 2024-25 (Oct-Sep) unchanged from last year, according to the state's Cabinet briefing Tuesday. Farmers in the state had expected the government to hike the prices for the ongoing sugar season. Sugar mills in the state pay farmers state-fixed prices for cane purchases.

 

The Uttar Pradesh government had increased the state-advised prices for sugarcane by 20 rupees for all varieties for 2023-24 (Oct-Sep) in January 2024. Mills in the state have to pay INR 370 per 100 kg for good quality sugarcane, INR 360 for average quality, and INR 355 for poor quality cane.

 

The decision to keep sugarcane prices unchanged has relieved millers amid declining cane yield and lower recovery rates. As of Saturday, sugar production in Uttar Pradesh fell 7.5% on year to 6.3 million tonnes, as the sugar recovery rate fell to 9.3% from 10.2% last year. Crop diseases such as red rot and heavy rains in some districts have reduced sugarcane yield and recovery rates, according to the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories. 

 

Apart from Uttar Pradesh, states such as Haryana, Punjab, and Uttarakhand also intervene in sugarcane pricing by announcing state-advised prices, which are usually higher than the fair and remunerative price set by the Centre. The sugar mills located in these states are mandated to pay farmers according to state-advised prices. 

 

The Centre in February last year hiked the fair and remunerative price for sugarcane by 7.4% to 340 rupees per 100 kg for the 2024-25 (Oct-Sep) sugar season, with a basic recovery rate of 10.25%. The recovery rate is the proportion of sugar extracted from sugarcane.

 

The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices has been critical of state-advised prices as they result in mounting cane payment arrears by mills. As of Tuesday, mills in Uttar Pradesh had paid INR 11.4 billion to sugarcane growers, or 62.3% of the total amount payable so far in the 2024-25 sugar season, state government data showed.

 

Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka are India's major sugar producers. India's sugar production in 2024-25 (Oct-Sep) is likely to fall 14.4% on year to 27.3 million tonnes from 31.9 million tonnes last year, according to the Indian Sugar Mills & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association. End

 

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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