Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s instruction to allocate sugarcane only to sugar mills with a good payment track record has ignited a competition among mills to settle outstanding cane payments promptly, reported The Times of India.
According to Deepak Guptara, Secretary-General of the UP Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA), the CM’s announcement followed soon after the Lok Sabha election results. Overall, the performance of sugar mills in the state has shown improved payment standings compared to previous years.
“As of June 15, for the 2023-24 crushing season, mills have settled around 87% of their total cane payment liability, marking the highest rate in the last two years. The CM’s announcement has spurred mills to intensify efforts in promptly clearing the remaining cane dues,” Guptara added.
As per news report by TOI, information from UPSMA indicates that sugarcane allotments will be scaled back for mills that have performed poorly in settling cane payments and redistributed to those with better performance records.
Guptara highlighted that sugar mills have disbursed Rs 3,126 crore towards cane payments, equivalent around to 87% of the total cane price procured. This represents an improvement compared to Rs 30,658 crore (80.7%) paid in the 2022-23 crushing season and Rs 27,363 crore (77.7%) paid during the corresponding period in the 2021-22 crushing season.
