Apprehending hike in cane prices this season, private sugar mills have petitioned the state government urging it not to increase State Advisory Price (SAP) as ‘it would be detrimental for the industry and cane sector. In a letter despatched to Principal Secretary, Sugar and Cane Development, Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) secretary general Deepak Guptara said that the present SAP should not be increased in the overall interest of the farmers and the industry. As of now, the SAP stands at Rs 305 per quintal and sources claimed that Yogi Government wants to increase it between Rs 10 and 15 per quintal. The previous Samajwadi Party regime had increased cane price by Rs 25 per quintal last year. Sugar prices are subject to market variations and can go up and down as per demand. Overall increase in sugar prices is marginal as compared to SAP in previous years. There are times when sugar prices go down because of excess production of sugarcane but the SAP increases. This imbalance has hit the sugar industry hard. UPSMA official said that once SAP was increased, it cannot be reduced even when sugar prices fall. In such situation cane price arrears accumulate and sugar mills incur losses.