UP sees record sugar output

PUNE: Uttar Pradesh has achieved record sugar production this year, catapulting the traditionally second-largest sugar producing state in the country to the No 1 position, past drought-hit Maharashtra.

“At 86 lakh tonnes (on April 21), we have produced highest ever sugar in the state,“ said Deepak Guptara, secretary, Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills Association, which represents 65 of the total 91 private sugar mills in the state.

With 39 sugar mills still in operation, the output is expected to rise further, albeit marginally, since the pace of sugarcane arrivals has reduced.

UP has a total of 116 sugar mills, of which 24 are in the cooperative sector and one is operated by the Sugar Corporation. While UP has seen a 26% growth in output over the previous year, sugar production in the traditionally biggest producer Maharashtra has fallen to less than half this season.