A day after the High Court revoked UP government’s order of waiving of loans of sugar mills, Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association claimed that the state will record higher sugar production this fiscal and will become the highest sugar producing state in the country.

“It is estimated that sugar mills in UP will produce over 85 lakh tonnes sugar during the 2016-17 crushing season which is 40 per cent of the total sugar produced in India. With this, UP will become the highest sugar producing state in the country,” spokesman of UPSMA Deepak Guptara said.

The state has produced 69 lakh tonnes of sugar till March 10. Only 15 mills out of the 116 mills have closed down so far in UP. “We will achieved our target within the designated period,” Guptara said.

As per estimates, Maharashtra will produce 46 lakh tonnes of sugar followed by Karnataka with 23 lakh tonnes. 

Guptara said that there various factors which worked in favour of sugar production which include increased acrage of high variety cane leading to increase is sugar recovery and higher production of sugar. Besides, drawl percentage of cane from jaggery and khandsari to sugar mills has been higher.

“These factors have resulted in higher sugar production in the state. In this fiscal, there is improvement in sugar prices which has benefited both farmers and the sugar mills,” he said.

As far as payment to cane farmers is concerned, the sugar mills have cleared 78.16 per cent till date and the cane arrear of this fiscal stands at Rs 3947 crore.

Meanwhile, the BJP welcomed the High Court decision to revoke Akhilesh Yadav government’s order of waiving of loans of sugar mills. BJP spokesman Manish Shukla said that the High Court order has justified BJP allegation that state government was soft towards sugar mills.

Shukla said that the anti- farmers, anti- women, anti-youth, and anti-development policies of Akhilesh Yadav government has brought down the curtains on its regime.