UP hikes sugarcane price to ₹400 per quintal for early-maturing varieties

The Yogi Adityanath government raises the state advised price of sugarcane by ₹30 per quintal, benefiting 4.5 million farmers and boosting income by ₹3,000 crore

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday announced a hike of ₹30 in the state advised price (SAP) of sugarcane for the 2024-26 season, a raise which will take the SAP of the cash crop to ₹400 per quintal for early maturing varieties.

 

The more than 8 per cent price hike will translate into an additional income to sugarcane farmers by ₹3,000 crore in the current crushing season 2025-26, the government claimed.

 

The sugarcane’s SAP for the common/normal variety has also been hiked from ₹ 360 to ₹ 390 per quintal.

 

Along with paddy and wheat, sugarcane is a major cash crop of UP, and nearly 4.5 million farmer households are directly involved in its cultivation across the state.

 

Addressing newspersons in Lucknow on Wednesday morning, the state’s sugarcane development minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary said the increase of ₹30 per quintal demonstrated the commitment of the Yogi Adityanath government to augment farm income and bolster rural economy.

 

This marks the 4th cane price hike under the tenure of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath since 2017.

 

“Sugarcane farmers are the backbone of UP’s economy. It is our commitment to ensure they receive fair and timely payment for their produce,” Chaudhary said.

 

He said that UP has paid more than ₹2.9 trillion to cane farmers since 2017, which is ₹1.42 trillion more than the ₹1.47 trillion disbursed during the previous Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) regimes between 2007 and 2017 in the state.

 

At present, 122 sugar mills -- second highest in India after Maharashtra -- are operational in UP.

 

The minister alleged that while 21 mills were sold off at “throwaway” prices during the previous regimes, the Yogi government’s transparent and investor-friendly policies have attracted ₹12,000 crore in fresh investments in the sugar industry.

 

Over the past eight years, four new sugar mills have been established, six closed mills were revived, and 42 have expanded their crushing capacity, which is equivalent to adding eight new large mills, the minister claimed.

 

In addition, compressed biogas (CBG) plants have been set up in two sugar mills, promoting the production of alternative energy within the sector.

 

Under the ‘Smart Sugarcane Farmer’ system, all processes related to cane cultivation, including acreage registration, calendaring, and slip issuance, have been fully digitised to weed out the middlemen from the entire process.

 

Moreover, UP has achieved a remarkable growth in ethanol production, he claimed. UP ethanol production has risen from 410 million litres (ML) to 1,820 ML, while the number of distilleries has increased from 61 to 97.

 

UP cane acreage has expanded from 2 million hectares (MH) to 2.951 MH, making UP the top state in the country for both sugarcane cultivation and ethanol output.

 

Interestingly, the UP sugarcane prices had remained stuck at ₹370 per quintal for two years, while cultivation costs escalated.

 

Meanwhile, Dharmendra Malik, national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (apolitical), said that the UP government’s decision was in the interest of sugarcane farmers.