The standoff between the UP sugar mills and state government over cane pricing is bad news for the four million farmers in the state.

While crushing is yet to begin, farmers are struggling to find buyers for their cane.

With mills refusing to lift the produce, their only option is to go to kolhus, crushers or khandsari units, who are taking undue advantage of the situation and paying them a paltry amount between

Rs 125 and 170/quintal of cane. Last year by this time, mills in state had already produced 15.70 lakh quintal sugar, against 2011’s 25 lakh quintal.

Speaking to FE, Yogesh Dahiya, a cane farmer from Western UP, said farmers have become desperate. “They will not be able to hold on for too long. They need to vacate the fields for sowing wheat immediately or else the yield will be very low.

Also, the kolhus, who were till now paying Rs 200-215/quintal, have started taking advantage of the situation and are paying Rs.125-170/quintal. There is no way out for the farmer but to sell his cane at whatever price the millers are giving,” he said.

The unorganised sector, comprising kolhus, crushers and khandsari units, usually take advantage of the delay in announcing cane price. “For all those farmers who are unable to wait longer for the mills to start operations and are in desperate need of money, the only option is to go to these units and sell their crop at a lower price,” said another source in the industry.

“Last year, the drawal by the gur and juice segments was around 40%. But with mills not ready to start operations yet this year, these cottage units are expecting to reap a golden harvest. And the worst stakeholder in this case will be the farmer, who is like an orphan. With no one ready to pay him his due on cane, he wants to wash his hands off the cane as soon as he can so that he can get his field ready for wheat," said a source.

“The industry feels the state government’s strategy is wrong and is highly impractical.

A consensus on cane linkage has be worked out which will followed by all the stakeholders” said CB Patodia, president of Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association.

“Unlike other crops, cane cannot be stored This year’s development is likely to have a ripple effect next year, when farmers will move away from cane to other crops due to this attitude of the industry,” said Joginder Singh, a cane farmer from Lakhimpur Kheri.