UP Sugar Millers Association has criticized the Akhilesh Yadav government's decision of hiking the State Advised Price (SAP) for sugarcane by Rs 40 per quintal, saying it would force sugar units to run on losses.

The state government on Friday announced a hike of Rs 40 per quintal of sugarcane, from Rs Rs 250 to Rs 290 for the early variety, Rs 240 to Rs 280 for the normal variety, and from Rs 235 to Rs 275 for sub-standard variety for the 2012-13 crushing season. As per official estimate, the hike in SAP will imply that the farmers will get Rs 21,500 crore as sugarcane produce price, Rs 3,300 crore more than what they had received last year.

But, the hike was criticized by UP Sugar Millers Association as well as Sugar Technologists Association of India (STAI).

SL Gupta, secretary of Sugar Millers Association, argued that sugarcane SAP was hiked by around 70 per cent, from 165 per quintal in 2009-10 to 280 per quintal this year; while prices of sugar improved by merely 15 per cent.

STAI President GSC Rao also criticized the hike, saying it would bleed the industry, which is already running on losses.

Condemning the hike, Rao said, "With the price of sugar low the huge hike in cane prices is not justified. Sugar units would have to run on losses."

Rao claimed that they had requested the state government not to affect the hike in SAP this year, but the government didn't pay any heed to their request.

Many believe that Akhilesh Yadav hike SAP for sugarcane prices with an eye on the 40 lakh cane farmers' votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.