UP sugarcane area projected at 20 lakh hectares during FY17

The state is country's largest sugarcane producer and the acreage is likely to grow by 2%

The sugarcane acreage in Uttar Pradesh (UP) during the coming 2016-17 crushing season is estimated at over 20 lakh hectares (LH).

As per preliminary sugarcane survey in UP, which is India's largest sugarcane producer, the acreage is likely to grow by 2 per cent. During 2015-16, the cane area stood at 20.52 LH and with 2 per cent projected growth, it would further grow to 20.90 LH.

UP cane commissioner Vipin Kumar Dwivedi said: "Sugarcane plant crop area had clocked growth of over 10 per cent due to proactive measures by the state government. This included providing high yielding cane varieties to farmers, timely provision of fertilisers, farm chemicals etc, which further prodded the cane growers towards higher cultivation."

Sugarcane yield is achieved through plant or ratoon (stubble) crops. While plant crop is freshly sowed cane, for ratoon crop, farmers leave lower part and root of the cane crop uncut at the time of harvesting. This provides multiple crops from the ratoon before the farmers have to replant with fresh plant crop for harvesting.

Last year, the cane plant and ratoon crop had accounted for 9.80 LH and 10.72 LH of acreage in UP compared to this year's projection of 10.80 LH and 10.10 respectively.

The highest rise in sugarcane plant crop area has been reported in the Western UP divisions of Meerut, Saharanpur, Moradabad and Bareilly.

The current ex-factory retail prices of sugar in UP are 25 per cent higher compared to last year. While, sugar prices last year were in the region of 2,700-2,800 per quintal, this year the prices are at a firmer levels of 3,400-3,500 per quintal with no possibility of going down in near future.

UP sugar mills have to pay about Rs 2,000 in farmers' cane dues for the last year's crushing season, when the state sugar production had stood at 69 lakh tonnes (LT) compared to 70.40 LT in 2014-15. The mills had also clocked better sugar recovery of about 10.50 per cent.

UP sugar sector is dominated by private sugar mills, which number over 90 of the total 116 units.