UP govt hikes sugarcane price by ₹30/quintal for 2025–26 season; check early, common variety rates

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday approved a ₹30 per quintal increase in sugarcane prices for the 2025–26 crushing season, calling it a major pro-farmer step that will benefit lakhs of cultivators across the state.

Announcing the decision, Sugarcane Development and Sugar Industry Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary said the price of the early variety of sugarcane has been fixed at ₹400 per quintal and the common variety at ₹390 per quintal.

“The increase will result in an additional payment of around ₹3,000 crore to farmers,” Chaudhary said at a press conference.

This is the fourth time the Yogi Adityanath-led government has raised the state advisory price (SAP) of sugarcane during its tenure.

“The government considers it its top priority to honour the hard work of farmers. Sugarcane growers are not just producers but strong pillars of the state's economy,” the minister said.

According to Chaudhary, sugarcane farmers have so far received payments worth ₹2,90,225 crore during the current administration.

“The current government has therefore made ₹1,42,879 crore more payments in just eight and a half years,” he said.

Uttar Pradesh currently has 122 operational sugar mills, placing it second in the country in sugar production.

Chaudhary said that in the past eight years, four new mills have been established, six closed mills have been reopened, and 42 mills have expanded their crushing capacity, equivalent to the addition of eight large mills. Two sugar mills have also installed compressed biogas (CBG) plants, strengthening the alternative energy base in the sugarcane sector.

He said that under the state’s “Smart Ganna Kisan” initiative, the entire process of area registration, scheduling, and the issuance of supply slips has been made online.

Farmers now receive their supply slips directly on mobile phones, and payments are transferred to their bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

“The central government has recognised the system as a model initiative,” the minister said.

Highlighting the ethanol sector’s growth, Chaudhary said production in Uttar Pradesh has increased from 41 crore litres to 182 crore litres, while the number of distilleries has risen from 61 to 97.

The sugarcane acreage in the state has also expanded from 20 lakh hectares to 29.51 lakh hectares, making Uttar Pradesh the leading state in the country in sugarcane cultivation, he added.