After some delay, the sugarcane crushing for 2008-09 season has finally started in the state, with three mills in the western region taking the lead.
Three units, namely Modi Sugar in Meerut, Brijnathpur in Hapur and Simbhaoli in Ghaziabad district, have started crushing, since their reservation order has been passed.
Another mill in the cooperative sector, Ramala in Saharanpur district, will also start crushing soon.
The reservation order for other cane areas is likely to be passed by the next week.
Sugarcane farmers are statutorily required to supply their produce to a sugar factory under the order of UP Cane Commissioner – commonly known as reservation order.
Full-scale crushing is expected to start in another week’s time even as the issue of cane price continues to be tangled.
Announced on October 18, 2008, State Advised Price (SAP) this year had seen a record hike of Rs 15 a quintal over last year.
For the 2008-09 crushing season, the government has announced a SAP of Rs 137.50 per quintal of cane for rejected variety, Rs 140 for general variety (up from Rs 125 from last year) and Rs 145 for early variety.
Interestingly, the Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) has been retained at Rs 81 per quintal as last year. On November 4, the UP sugar mills had challenged SAP before the Allahabad High Court terming the rate as arbitrary on the part of the state government. The matter is listed for hearing on November 18.
The petition alleged that the SAP did not consider the “losses” incurred by the sugar industry in the last two years. The sugar industry had expressed its willingness to pay around Rs 112 a quintal.
The total area under the cash crop is likely to shrink by over 25 per cent this season. In the 2007-08, UP had posted record cane production of over 160 million tonnes and the sugarcane crop covered an area of about 2.5 million hectares.
Meanwhile, according to sources, the biggest sugar producer in the county Bajaj Hindusthan has agreed to pay the SAP for the current season. Other major sugar producers including Triveni and Balrampur are also likely to follow suit.
