| The Centre has fixed the statutory minimum price (SMP) of Rs 81 a quintal, whereas the UP government has fixed a state advised price (SAP) of Rs 125. |
| According to a senior cane department official, the government would first study the HC order and consult the law department on the issue before filing the SLP. |
| Sugar mills in the state had challenged the sugarcane price fixed by the state government for the cane year 2007-08. They argued that SAP was fixed arbitrarily and that similar fixation were quashed by the court in the previous crushing season. |
| However, UP additional advocate general Jafar Naiyer and chief standing counsel M C Chatuvedi contended that fixation of SAP by the state was based on relevant material and economical data. |
| Ravindra Singh, who is representing the UP Co-operative Cane Union Federation (UPCCUF), told the court that the SMP fixed by the Centre was based on outdated reports of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and linked to the recovery and not to the remunerative cane price. |
| "It does not take into consideration the earnings of sugar mills from by-products such as alcohol, ethanol, etc," Singh told Business Standard. |
| UP is the country's top sugarcane producer and the second largest sugar producer after Maharashtra and the issue of sugarcane payment figures prominently on the agenda of political parties. |
| According to reports, the UP sugar mills are facing 'no cane situation' due to non-payment of remunerative cane price. |
| "Though there has been an increase in the prices of sugarcane by Rs 12 a quintal in the current season, the state has not increased SAP, and since price remains the same, no fresh computation was required while fixing it," Singh added. |
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