Sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh have requested the State government not to increase the prices at which sugarcane is purchased from farmers this year. In a letter written to the Chief Secretary of the State, the U.P. Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) said that any increase in cane prices would hit them hard “as the cane industry has been going through losses for last three consecutive years. The request comes days after distressed farmers of the State alleged that the present rate of Rs. 305 per quintal of cane was much lower than the total input cost that goes into the farming of cane in U.P. Farmers have waged a campaign to increase the State Advised Price (SAP) to ?400 per quintal. Uttar Pradesh became the highest producer of sugar last year, contributing close to 42% of the total sugar production in India.