Late harvest may delay wheat sowing

The stalemate over sugarcane prices between farmers and mills in Uttar Pradesh may take a toll on an unusual suspect — wheat.

The likely delay in cane harvest due to the mills’ refusal to buy at the state advised price (SAP), will force farmers to delay wheat sowing, which in turn may lead to heavy yield losses in the country’s largest wheat producing state, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

The Uttar Pradesh government has asked mills to pay farmers Rs 140 per 100 kg for cane, up from Rs 125 last year.

Sugar mills have refused to buy cane at the SAP unless they get a subsidy from the government, as the price this year is way above the statutory minimum cane price of Rs 81.18 a quintal announced by the central government.

“Farmers will most likely leave cane in the field till mills start buying it. This will delay wheat sowing,” the official said.

He said the delay in wheat sowing could cost dear, as wheat is a time and temperature-sensitive crop, and late sowing could lead to a sharp drop in output.

A fall in wheat output in Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for nearly one-third of the country’s total output, could result in sizeable losses in total production of the staple food grain, the official said.

He said if wheat sowing is put off beyond November 15 in Uttar Pradesh, output could fall by about 33 kg per hectare per day of delay. If sowing is put off till December, the yield losses are seen much higher at about 49 kg per hectare a day.

He said delayed wheat sowing will be a major roadblock for the government, which is trying to implement timely sowing of wheat to ensure higher output.