UP finished sugar output to reach 6 mt

The total finished sugar production by Uttar Pradesh sugar mills during the current season is likely to touch 6 million tonnes (mt), including processing of imported raw sugar.

The state sugar mills including Bajaj Hindusthan, Simbhaoli, Balrampur and Triveni had contracted around 900,000 tonnes of raw sugar, mainly from Brazil at the start of the crushing season to tide over the low sugarcane production.

However, due to better cane recovery and drawal rate (cane diverted to mills for crushing) following remunerative prices being paid to farmers, the sugar production from crushing is touted to touch 5.2 mt.

“The raw sugar lying at various parts is also being processed, which could take the total finished sugar output in UP in the vicinity of 6 million tonnes,” an industry spokesperson told Business Standard.

Earlier, the state government had banned the ferrying of raw sugar to UP till the crushing season was on, to ensure better prices to farmers. The ban was lifted last month, when the payment rates placated the agitating farmers.

Against the 2009-10 State Advised Price (SAP) of Rs 165-170 for common and early variety respectively, the mills had been paying hefty incentives taking the price to almost Rs 280-300 per quintal in UP.

So far, the state mills have crushed about 56 million tonnes of sugarcane, producing roughly 4.7 million tonnes sugar. The mills have also paid nearly Rs 12,000 crore as cane dues to farmers.

“Of the total 128 sugar mills in UP, 54 mills are still crushing and the crushing season is likely to extend till mid-April,” a sugarcane official said.

Meanwhile, cash payment by khandsari units in western UP and rejected cane varieties has ensured unhindered supply of cane to them even in the face of better payment by mills.

“We are paying at the rate of Rs 235-240 per quintal and we hope to get uninterrupted cane supply till April 15, since we pay on cash terms,” Gur, Khandsari and Grain Merchant Association member Narendra Kumar said.

This season, the UP cane production dipped considerably to 98 million tonnes from 160 million tonnes in 2007-08. The cane acreage also declined from 2.8 million hectares in 2007-08 to 1.79 million hectares in the current crushing season.