Uttar Pradesh has surpassed Maharashtra in sugar production in the current season even as 118 sugar mills operated in UP during the period compared to 210 mills that were operational in the western state.

UP’s Cane Development and Sugar Mills Minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary said here on Sunday that UP was ahead of Maharashtra as far as production of sugar was concerned along with a number of other factors.

Elaborating further, Chaudhary said, “The total sugar produced by Uttar Pradesh in sugar season 2022-2023 is 107.29 lakh ton (which includes 3.05 lakh ton of Khandsari (physically extracted sugar from liquid jaggery), as compared to 105.30 lakh ton by Maharashtra.”

The area under cane cultivation in Uttar Pradesh is 28.53 lakh hectare (highest in India) as compared to 14.87 lakh hectare in Maharashtra. The sugarcane crushing season runs from October to June.

“The sugarcane production in UP has been 2,348 lakh ton, while in Maharashtra it has been 1,413 lakh ton,” Chaudhary said.

He added that total cane crushed by sugar mills in UP in the 2022-2023 season was 1,084.57 lakh ton, whereas it was 1,053 lakh ton in Maharashtra.

The UP minister also said that 19.84 lakh ton of sugarcane was diverted to ethanol in Uttar Pradesh, while in Maharashtra, it was 15.70 lakh ton.

Pointing towards the total number of sugar mills in both the states, the UP minister said that as compared to 246 sugar mills in Maharashtra, there were 157 sugar mills in UP.

As many as 210 sugar mills operated in Maharashtra as compared to 118 in Uttar Pradesh, he said.

He added that in the 2022-23 season, a payment of Rs 28,494.32 crore had been made to the farmers, and there were about 80 sugar mills which had made 100 per cent payment within a week of closure.

“Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathji, in the last six years, the sugar mills have made a payment of Rs 2,11,700 crore to the farmers. In the tenure of the previous governments, 12 sugar mills were sold, while 18 sugar mills were shut down. After coming to power, we have opened new mills and increased the capacity of some mills,” Chaudhary said.

Sharpening his attack on the previous governments, Chaudhary said, “The payment made to cane farmers during the Bahujan Samaj Party regime (from 2007 to 2012) was Rs 93,000 crore, while in the Samajwadi Party government (from 2012 to 2017), it was about Rs 95,215 crore.”

The cane development minister said that the UP farmers’ earnings from all other crops were almost equal to the amount they get in their bank account by selling just sugarcane.

He also said that instructions had been issued to the sugar mills to remain operational till June 15.