Bijnor/Lucknow: Sugar prices are rising, but cane acreage across Uttar Pradesh has fallen by 47,000 hectares for the 2026-27 crushing season, from 28.61 lakh hectares to 28.14 lakh hectares. Farmers have cited rising input, labour and irrigation costs, delayed payments by mills and the crop’s long cycle as reasons for shifting to alternatives that offer quicker returns.
A cane department official said UP has 122 sugar mills and the survey is conducted every year between June and Aug to assess the cane acreage. Sugar production in UP has fallen from around 104 lakh tonnes to 89.5 lakh tonnes, while cane production declined from 2,494.0 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) in 2023-24 to 2,456.0 LMT in 2024-25 and 2,362.0 LMT in 2025-26. Industry sources estimated that this diversion had resulted in a loss of around 5 LMT of sugar production. The industry has demanded that the state govt allow local units to begin crushing at least a month after sugar mills start operations in the 2026-27 crushing season. Sugar mills in UP are yet to pay over Rs 1,100 crore in sugarcane dues, according to farmer leaders.
Because of better returns, experts said an increasing share of cane crop appeared to be going to alternative uses, particularly khandsari units, which have become more attractive. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Meerut | Silver Rate in Meerut | Bank Holidays in Meerut | Public Holidays in Meerut | Meerut AQI | Weather in Meerut | Petrol Price in Meerut | Diesel Price in Meerut | CNG Price in Meerut | LPG Price in Meerut Stay updated with the latest Meerut news.
State president of the youth wing of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Arajnaitik), Digambar Singh, said rising cultivation costs, higher labour and irrigation expenses, crop diseases and delays in payment of cane dues were among the reasons for changes in farmers’ cropping patterns. others have shown apathetic attitude,” he said While some mills have cleared cane payments on time. “Farmers are concerned as sugar prices are currently rising, while mills have also recorded around 0.6% higher sugar recovery compared to last year,” a leader said. Saharanpur deputy cane commissioner OP Singh said the department was working to improve sugarcane productivity through better varieties and scientific farming practices. Experts said factors beyond acreage were also affecting sugar output.
The decline, recorded in the latest survey by the sugarcane department, comes ahead of the crushing season, which begins in Oct and continues till April. Several major cane-growing districts, including Bijnor, Lakhimpur and Pilibhit, have recorded fall in acreage. The decline in acreage comes alongside a fall in sugar production over the past few crushing seasons. “Sugarcane is a long-duration crop, which keeps farmers’ money tied up for a prolonged period. Centre’s ethanol blending programme has emerged as an important factor in investment and operational decisions in the sugar sector, with mills seeking flexibility to divert cane juice and molasses towards ethanol production. Sugar recovery is also affected by weather conditions, varietal composition and cane quality, with erratic rainfall and temperature variations affecting the sugar content in cane and reducing the amount of sugar extracted from each tonne crushed. Download the TOI App.
In 2019-20, when UP recorded its highest-ever sugar production of 126.4 LMT, cane production stood at 2,172.0 LMT, while mills crushed a record 1,118.0 LMT of cane.
The gap between cane production and sugar output has also been seen in earlier seasons.