Yogi govt gives 'khandsari' plants a push ahead of challenging sugar season

Yogi govt gives ‘khandsari’ plants a push ahead of challenging sugar season Targets licensing 50 new khandsari plants before 201819 crushing season

Economy & Policy : Even as another challenging domestic sugar season stares at the industry amid projected bumper sugarcane crop and depressed sugar prices, the Yogi Adityanath government is revitalising the once flourishing ‘khandsari’ (unrefined/raw sugar) sector in the state.

Khandsari is basically unrefined/raw sugar derived from thickened sugarcane syrup. It has higher molasses content and is deemed healthier than the refined and chemically treated white sugar.

ALSO READ: UP gives push to setting up unrefined sugar plants to help cane farmers At one point, there were about 5,000 khandsari units operating in the countryside of UP. However, only about 161 of the total 1,078 licensed khandsari plants were functional during the last crushing season, 2017-18.

To incentivise these rural-based units for job creation and giving an alternative to cane farmers, the Adityanath government had amended the policy, reducing the radial distance from the‌Read More