Uttar Pradesh set to become Top Ethanol Producer in India | 31 Oct 2022

Why In News?

On October 30, 2022, Uttar Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary (Sugar Industry) Sanjay Bhoosreddy told the media that Uttar Pradesh is all set to become the top ethanol producer in the country. The size of the industry in the state has crossed Rs 12,000 crore.

Key Points

Additional Chief Secretary (Sugar Industry) Sanjay Bhoosreddy informed that the ethanol capacity of Uttar Pradesh has been estimated at 2 billion litres per year, which is almost eight times more than 240 million litres per year five years ago. The state's ethanol capacity is expected to reach 2.25 billion litres per annum in the next few years.
He informed that private sector distilleries have invested about Rs 7,500 crore in the last five years to upgrade the overall ethanol capacity of the state.
The state government is trying to integrate sugarcane crop with an attractive ethanol value chain to provide remunerative prices to farmers and protect the sector from the cyclical nature of the sugar market.
Sanjay Bhoosreddy said that in the current 2022-23 sugarcane crushing season, five private mills will manufacture ethanol directly from sugarcane juice without producing sugar. In addition, 71 other mills will produce ethanol from B-heavy molasses.
Meanwhile, the state's sugarcane area is estimated to increase by 3 percent or 84,000 hectares to over 2.85 million hectares, while sugarcane production in the current season is estimated at 23.50 million metric tonnes. A total of 120 sugar mills- 93 private units, 24 cooperative units and three Uttar Pradesh State Sugar Corporation units will operate during the current sugarcane crushing season.
It is known that more than 4.5 million rural households are associated with the Uttar Pradesh sugarcane sector, which includes sugar, ethanol, jaggery, power cogeneration, jaggery, khandsari (refined sugar) etc. in its by-product portfolio. The consolidated annual sugarcane economy in the state is about Rs 50,000 crore.