Sugar mills are yet to clear pending dues worth Rs 2,400 crore of the last two sugar seasons to cane growers, a senior Food Ministry official said on Tuesday.

Depressed sugar prices due to surplus sugar production in two consecutive sugar seasons -- 2017-18 and 2018-19 -- adversely affected the liquidity of sugar mills resulting in accumulation of cane price arrears of farmers.
Till last month, mills have cleared about Rs 84,700 crore dues of the 2018-19 sugar season (October-September) and Rs 84,900 crore arrear of 2017-18, the official said.

Still, about 2,300 crore was pending for clearance for the 2018-19 sugar season and Rs 100 crore for the 2017-18 season, he said adding that payment of cane price by the sugar mills to sugarcane growing farmers is a continuous process.

Total dues that mills were to pay till February 2020, was Rs 87,000 crore for 2018-19 and Rs 85,000 crore for 2017-18 sugar season, the official added.