Pilibhit: In a first, state sugarcane administration has decided that 85% of the sale value of byproducts of sugarcane -- molasses, bagasese, press-mud and ethanol -- derived by sugar mills will be tagged for cane price payment. Till now, the tagging policy was applicable only to sugar stocks. Principal secretary, sugarcane and sugar industry, UP government, Sanjay R. Bhoosreddy said the modified tagging system will help speed up clearance of cane price arrears. Industry sources revealed that 92 mills in the private sector, 24 cooperative and three mills of UP Sugar Mill Corporation presently owe farmers around Rs 13,000 crore as cane dues.

“The sugar mills which have established their own distillery units to utilize the mother unit’s byproducts for producing alcohol will have to pay 85% of the value of molasses and bagasse from the accounts of respective distillery units for writing off the cane price arrears,” he said.

“In addition, 30% of the sale value of ethanol produced from C-grade molasses, 55% produced from B-heavy molasses and 80% produced directly from sugarcane juice will be used for repaying the cane price dues," Bhoosreddy said.

For execution of this exercise, an ‘escrow account’ had been opened in all sugar mills in the state which will jointly be operated by the mill management and the district cane officer concerned he added.