Apprehending a law and order problem from farmers protesting against “low sugarcane price”, the UP government on Tuesday banned offloading of raw duty-free sugar imported by private sugar mills from Brazil. The imported sugar is reaching the state from Kandla port by trains.

Additional Director General for Law and Order (West) A K Jain said the government had decided to ban the offloading of the imported sugar after violent protests by the farmers.

Last Friday, bags of raw sugar, imported by the Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Mills, were set on fire by farmers at Shamli railway station in Muzaffarnagar district. After the incident, the district administration had prevented further offloading of raw sugar. BKU chief Mahendra Singh Tikait has given a call to farmers to burn the imported sugar wherever they see it. Tikait issued the call following reports of burning of sugarcane crop by farmers at some places. The farmers are up in arms against the state government over the state advised price (SAP) of sugarcane which is lower than their expectations.

In order to tide over the shortage of sugar in the domestic market, the Centre had permitted private sugar mills to import raw sugar from Brazil. The mills will refine the sugar and then sell it. In UP, several private sugar companies, including Bajaj, Balrampur, Simbhaoli and Triveni, had contracted for the import of duty-free sugar.

Faced with the farmer’s agitation, the state is pushing the ball into Centre’s court. The ban on offloading of imported sugar is part of this effort.

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