UP sugar mills have surpassed the sugar industry of Maharashtra and Karnataka in sugar recovery in the current sugarcane crushing season 2017-18. The sugar mills in UP has achieved sugar recovery of 9.9 percent against 9.38 percent in Maharashtra, a major sugar producing state and 8.61 percent in Karnataka during the current season.
The cane commissioner Sanjay Bhoosreddy said here on Tuesday that during the current season the sugar mills have so far made payment of little over Rs 2,500 crore to the sugar cane farmers against the sugarcane purchased by the sugar mills from the farmers. He said during the same period in last cane crushing season 2016-17 the sugar mills had paid only Rs 928 crore to the farmers.
He said so far the sugar mills in UP have crushed 1.62 crore MT of sugarcane and have produced 16 lakh MT of sugar. He said during the same period in last season the cane crushed was little over 1 crore MT and sugar production was 10.05 lakh MT. He said during the current season the sugar recovery has also increased by 0.09 percent as compared to the last cane crushing season. The cane commissioner said in the current season 112 sugar mills are in operation.
Meanwhile the UP private sugar millers have urged the chief minister Yogi Adityanath for payment of power dues owed by state power utility UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) to facilitate speedier settlement of sugarcane farmers’ arrears. The mills supply bagasse-based power generated to UPPCL under power purchase agreement (PPA) during crushing season. The UPPCL has not cleared dues of about Rs 475 crore pertaining to the previous 2016-17 crushing season. The private sugar mills still Rs 750 crore to the sugar cane farmers of the last cane crushing season 2016-17.
Earlier, UP Sugar mills Association (UPSMA) had written to the state cane commissioner seeking settlement of power dues in the larger interests of farmers, however, no progress has been made so far. UPSMA sources said the settlement of power dues would enable mills for early settlement of farmer’s dues of both the previous as well as the current crushing season. On the other hand, the UP sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Act 1953 stipulates payment of cane dues within 14 days; otherwise, the sugar mills are liable to pay interest penalty to the farmers. Previous Akhilesh Yadav led Samajwadi party government had waived the penal interest of over Rs 2,200 crore which the sugar mills were required to, pay to the sugarcane farmers on account of delay in payment.