Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, Uttar Pradesh's Minister for Cane Development and Sugar Mills, stated, "UP is ahead of Maharashtra in terms of sugar production, along with several other factors"
Image used for representational purpose. Pic/iStock
Uttar Pradesh has surpassed Maharashtra in sugar production for the current season, despite operating fewer sugar mills. While Uttar Pradesh had 118 operational sugar mills during this period, Maharashtra had 210 mills in operation.
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Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary, Uttar Pradesh's Minister for Cane Development and Sugar Mills, stated, "UP is ahead of Maharashtra in terms of sugar production, along with several other factors." Chaudhary provided further details, stating, "Uttar Pradesh has produced a total of 107.29 lakh tonnes of sugar in the 2022-2023 sugar season, including 3.05 lakh tonnes of Khandsari (physically extracted sugar from liquid jaggery), compared to Maharashtra's production of 105.30 lakh tonnes. Additionally, Uttar Pradesh has cultivated sugarcane across an area of 28.53 lakh hectares (the highest in India), whereas Maharashtra cultivated sugarcane across 14.87 lakh hectares."
The sugarcane crushing season in both states spans from October to June. Chaudhary explained, "The sugarcane production in Uttar Pradesh has reached 2,348 lakh tonnes, while in Maharashtra, it stands at 1,413 lakh tonnes." He also mentioned that the total amount of sugarcane crushed by sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh for the 2022-2023 season was 1,084.57 lakh tonnes, compared to Maharashtra's 1,053 lakh tonnes.
Chaudhary further shared that Uttar Pradesh diverted 19.84 lakh tonnes of sugar to ethanol production, while Maharashtra diverted 15.70 lakh tonnes. Highlighting the number of installed sugar mills, the minister noted that Uttar Pradesh has 157 installed sugar mills, whereas Maharashtra has 246.
While Maharashtra had 210 operational sugar mills, Uttar Pradesh had 118, Chaudhary pointed out. He added that in the 2022-23 season, a payment of Rs 28,494.32 crore has been made to farmers, with approximately 80 sugar mills ensuring 100 percent payment within a week of closure.
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"Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's leadership, sugar mills have made payments of Rs 2,11,700 crore to farmers in the last six years. In the tenure of previous governments, 12 sugar mills were sold, while 18 sugar mills were shut down. However, after coming to power, we have opened new mills and increased the capacity of existing mills," Chaudhary remarked, criticizing the previous administrations.
Regarding payments made to cane farmers during previous governments, Chaudhary stated, "During the Bahujan Samaj Party regime (from 2007 to 2012), the payment made to cane farmers was Rs 93,000 crore, while during the Samajwadi Party government (from 2012 to 2017), it was approximately Rs 95,215 crore."
The Minister for Cane Development highlighted that the income Uttar Pradesh farmers earn from all other crops is nearly equal to what they receive by selling sugarcane alone. He also issued instructions for sugar mills to remain operational until June 15.
In response, Maharashtra's Cooperation Minister Atul Moreshwar Save stated, "The production of sugarcane was lower this year, resulting in less sugarcane reaching the sugar mills compared to last year. This is the reason for the difference. However, the capacity of sugar mills will increase next year."
(With inputs from PTI)
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