Sugar production in Uttar Pradesh is set to cross 105 lakh tonnes (lt) as the cane area has increased in the State. However, millers are worried about the impact of climate change as heavy unseasonal rains in October could have a negative impact on crops as happened last year.

Uttar Pradesh has produced 105.40 lt of sugar this season (October-September), the highest among all the States, but a tad above Maharashtra’s 105.30 lt.

“It looks the (sugarcane) crop will be good as the plant growth so far indicates. Let’s hope to see timely rain keeps happening in regular intervals. Last year, there was scanty rains in the first half of the monsoon season and excess in later parts which damaged crop in some parts. Hope there will not be excess rains this year,” said Aditya Jhunjhunwala, President of Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA).

According to the latest sowing data, Uttar Pradesh has seen the highest increase in area under sugarcane among all the States as the acreage reached 27.51 lakh hectares (lh) until July 7, against 23.60 lh in the year-ago period. Whereas sugarcane sowing has dropped in Maharashtra to 10.54 lh from 12.11 lh. The all-India acreage under the crop has reached 54.40 lh against 52.92 lh year-ago.

In the 2022-23 season, the area under sugarcane was 28.53 lh in UP, according to State government data. Mills attributed the high area and low production to rainfall impact, first deficit and then excess. When UP had a record 120.48 lt of sugar in the 2017-18 season, the area was 21.60 lh, according to union agriculture ministry data, though the State government has estimated the area higher at about 28 lh for that year.

“In our command area, there is a 9-10 per cent increase in acreage,” said the head of a sugar mill in Rampur district in Uttar Pradesh. The State government allocates a geographical area to each sugar mill, binding them to buy whatever sugarcane farmers want to sell them at the state-advised price. He said the area under cane could have been more had the farmers followed the district authority’s advisory not to sow paddy before June 20.

While the cane juice recovery in UP was higher at 11.5 per cent against 11.2 per cent in Maharashtra in 2021-22, the production of sugar vis-a-vis acreage is lower when compared with Maharashtra. A large chunk of sugarcane in UP also get diverted for jaggery/gur and alcohol production.

Another issue UP has been struggling with is the replacement of the current popular variety CO-0238, which is of late getting pest attacks due to maximum coverage over the last few years. “I will shift to other varieties after analysing yield for a few years as some other farmers have started growing alternative varieties of CO-0238,” said Ramesh Malik, a cane farmer in Shamli.

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