INDIA: UP sugar production seen at 4.5 million tonnes
Published: 03/09/2010, 8:32:55 AM
Uttar Pradesh is likely to produce more than 4.5 million metric tonnes of sugar by the end of the current season, according to the Press Trust of India.
"As compared with 4.064 million tonnes of sugar produced in the last season, the State has this year produced 4.184 million tonnes of sugar by March 7 and this is expected to reach 4.528 million tonnes by the end of the crushing season," the Cane Commissioner, Sudhir M. Bobade, said.
He said that compared with last year, production is estimated to increase by 12 per cent in Uttar Pradesh.
At the start of the crushing season, Uttar Pradesh projected only 3.96 million tonnes sugar output, less than around 4.1 million tonnes produced in the last crushing season.
"Besides sugar, production of ‘khandsari', jaggery and molasses has also increased from the last crushing season," he said adding that 61 sugar mills have completed cane crushing.
Last season, the Government revised the production target several times due to non-availability of cane, from around 6.5 million tonnes projected earlier. "However, 67 mills are still operational and some units in western Uttar Pradesh are expected to run till April," he said.