The Karnataka sugar industry has overtaken Uttar Pradesh as the state with the second highest percentage of sugar recovery in the country for 2007-08 (October — September). This is for the first time that mills from Karnataka have achieved this, by recording an average recovery of 10.87 per cent sugar (about 109 kg of sugar for every tonne of cane crushed). UP, on the other hand, recorded an average recovery of 9.8 per cent during the year. Maharashtra continues to be in the first position with a recovery of 11.92 per cent.
According to an assessment of the sugar industry’s performance for the sugar year ending September 2008 conducted by Delhi-based National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd, the sugar industry from Karnataka continued to remain the number one producer in South India and the third largest producer on an all India basis. In terms of the total quantity of sugarcane crushed and sugar produced, the mills from Karnataka remained at the third position by producing 2.92 million tonnes of sugar after crushing 26.7 million tonnes of cane.
While Maharashtra topped the list by producing 9.07 million tonnes of sugar.
