UP Govt Advises Sugar Mills to Maintain Transparency in Ethanol Output

The newly adopted sugarcane molasses policy is the means by which the Uttar Pradesh government has chosen to curb alcohol abuse. It has instructed sugar mills to uphold transparency in the ethanol production process using sugarcane syrup and juice.

According to the new sugarcane molasses policy, Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister, has ordered sugar mills to reserve at least 20% of the total molasses production. According to a state government spokesperson, specific restrictions have been put on exports to other states and countries due to the high demand for molasses.

158 sugar mills in the state are currently involved in sugarcane crushing. According to him, there are 104 businesses in the private sector and 28 run by the UP Co-operative Sugar Mills' Association, UP State Sugar Corporation, and the central government.

The ethanol supply year (ESY) runs from November 1 of one year to October 31 of the next, during which sugar mills produce a variety of alcoholic beverages, including rectified spirit.

Molasses-derived alcohol is used in distilleries (to make beverages), oil depots, pharmacies, chemical plants, a number of hospitals, educational institutions, labs, security institutions, and other establishments. Different types of alcohol are produced and consumed by numerous units, and the state government balances supply and demand.

East UP has received special attention from the state government in the new policy. According to the spokesperson, distilleries in the divisions of Gorakhpur, Devipatan, Azamgarh, Varanasi, Basti, and Vindhyachal supply about 25% of the nation's booze.

The Uttar Pradesh government is attempting to integrate the sugarcane crop with the lucrative ethanol value chain in order to provide farmers with fair prices and protect the sector from the cyclical nature of the sugar market.

UP & Maharashtra account for roughly 60% of the country's annual sugarcane output. While Uttar Pradesh has dominated the sugar production chart for many years, Maharashtra has surpassed it in recent years due to increased sugarcane diversion for ethanol production in UP.