The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday increased the state-advised price (SAP) for sugarcane by Rs 20 per quintal, in an effort to garner the support of farmers ahead of general elections.

The decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The price of cane has been increased by Rs 20 per quintal. The early variety will fetch Rs 370 per quintal while the common variety price will be Rs 360 a quintal, Minister, Sugar Industry and Cane Development Department, Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, told reporters.

The purchase price of the early variety of sugarcane was Rs 350 per quintal and for the common variety was Rs 340 per quintal. The prices had been effective after the government increased SAP of sugarcane by Rs 25 per quintal in 2021, ahead of the 2022 state assembly elections.

Besides the fair and remunerative price (FRP) on the crop announced by the Union government, the SAP is determined by the government of sugar-producing states considering the cost of production in specific regions.

Chaudhary said that in the past six years, the Adityanath government has increased cane prices by Rs 55 per quintal.

In 2017, the cane price was Rs 315 per quintal, he said, adding that in the previous regime sugar mills in the state were on the verge of closure.

In Uttar Pradesh, he said, 42 lakh families and 45 lakh labourers are engaged in sugarcane cultivation.

Meanwhile, Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) termed the cane price hike insufficient.

Talking with reporters at BKU headquarters at Sisauli near Muzaffarnagar, BKU National president Naresh Tikait said that the new sugarcane price is not acceptable for farmers.

The hike is insufficient as the cost of produce has increased in the state, Tikait said while appealing the state government to reconsider its decision.

He demanded that the rate of Rs 450 per quintal should be fixed for the sugarcane. Sugarcane prices in neighbouring states Haryana and Punjab are more than in that in Uttar Pradesh, he added.

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