Not only the area under cane cultivation has increased by 18% ahead of the forthcoming crushing season but also sugar production is set to go up by10%, potentially aggravating the sugar glut in the open market. Records show that cane cultivation in UP rose from 23 lakh hectares in 2016-17 to around 27 lakh hectares in 2017-18, a rise of 4 lakh hectares. In comparison, cane cultivation area in Maharashtra rose from 7.75 lakh hectares to 9.15 lakh hectares during the same period — an increase of just 1.5 lakh hectares. Karnataka, the other key sugar producing state, registered increase in cane acreage from 4.1 lakh hectares in 2016-17 to just 4.15 lakh hectares, a rise of mere 0.05 lakh hectares. As a result, sugarcane production in UP is estimated to rise from 1,800 lakh tonne in 2017-18 to over 2,100 lakh tonne in 2018-19, that is an increase of more than 18%. Correspondingly, sugar production in UP is set to rise from around 120 lakh tonnes in 2017-18 to over 130 lakh tonnes in the upcoming crushing season, thereby aggravating the prevailing sugar glut. Industry experts say this situation has crop up mainly because of the State Advisory Price (SAP), which the state governments has been increasing year after year. The SAP rose from Rs 305 in 2016-17 to Rs 315 in 2017-18 and is likely to be increased again in the run-up to 2019 Lok Sabha elections.