Uttar Pradesh official:’17-18 cane area seen 2.3 million ha vs 2.1 million. Sugar output in Uttar Pradesh is likely to rise to a record 10.3 million tonne in the next season starting October from 8.77 million tonne year ago. Uttar Pradesh is the top producer of sugarcane in the country and along with Maharashtra accounts for half of India’s total sugar output. Last year, cane area in Uttar Pradesh was 20.5 lakh (2.05 million ha). This year there is an increase of 10-12%, and area is seen around 23 lakh (2.3 million ha). Sowing of sugarcane is almost at its ending stage and farmers so far have already planted nearly 2.3 million ha of sugarcane in Uttar Pradesh, up 5.1% on year.