Sugar producers see sweet sops in SP's poll lead

With the Samajwadi Party (SP) emerging as the single-largest party in the UP elections, the sugar industry has reason to celebrate.

Given the party’s pro-sugar industry stance in the past, Vivek Saraogi, MD of Balrampur Chini, told CNBC-TV18 that he expects policies promoting the sugar industry from the SP, even though no revision in the minimum support price of sugar is possible for the current season (prices have already been fixed by the outgoing Bahujan Samaj Party).

Uttar Pradesh is the biggest producer of sugarcane in India.

Ahead of the polls, Mayawati’s BSP government raised prices to Rs 250 per quintal from Rs 210 per quintal, despite significantly higher sugarcane production in 2011-12.

State-administered prices, or SAP, are significant because these are the prices that sugar producers pay farmers to procure sugar.

The sugar policies Saraogi referred to covers investment subsidies, favourable tax policies and reimbursements among others.

Saraogi also said that with the return of the SP, he expected a greater thrust on industrialisation, adding that “this (industrialisation) was not the flavour of the BSP”.

Watch video:Balrampur Chini hopeful of tax benefits after SP rule in UP