Sugarcane crushing in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s largest producer of the cash crop, is slowly gaining momentum, with about 60 per cent of the 125 sugar mills functioning.
Till date, 76 mills, including 65 in private sector and rest being cooperative units, had started, primarily in the western and central regions. So far, the mills had crushed nearly 2.9 million tonnes (mt) of cane, producing 230,000 tonnes of the sweetener.
The state government had directed the respective district officials and magistrates to ensure early crushing by mills to allow farmers to empty their fields for wheat.
