Mathura, Oct 20 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh government is making arrangements to prepare export quality sugar in its few sugar mills, minister for sugar mills and sugarcane development Laxmi Narain Chaudhary said on Thursday.

"In the beginning, export quality sugar will be produced in larger sugar mills of the state only," Chaudhary told reporters here.

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He said, in order to ensure sugar mills earn more profit and become self-sustaining, ethanol producing distillery units are being added to sugar mills.

The system will also increase the income of the farmers, the minister said, adding that permission for the addition of distillery has already been given to five sugar mills in a year so far.

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New sugar mills now will have distilleries also, the minister said.

Sugarcane growers have been benefited during the Yogi Adityanath-led government in the state. Not a single mill has been sold or closed, since the BJP government came to power. Instead self-reliant new mills are coming up with concerted efforts to ensure high yielding variety of sugarcane production, Chaudhary said.

The minister said, the detailed project report of Chhata sugar mill is under preparation and every effort is being made to ensure that the mill becomes self reliant with the addition of ethanol producing distillery and other arrangements.

For ensuring availability of sugarcane, farmers will now be encouraged to grow high-yielding developed variety of sugarcane with assured purchase at sugarcane purchase centres. From there, sugarcane would be sent to sugar mills until the Chhata sugar mill starts operation, the minister stated.

While 19 sugar mills were sold between 2007 to 2012, eleven were closed between 2012 and 2017 without payment of arrears to farmers.

The minister said as per law the farmer either should be paid for his produce within 14 days or interest must be paid on arrears.

A complicated situation developed in 2012 when the then government waived off interest on arrears of sugar mills neglecting the interest of farmers and the matter now is sub-judice.

The 28 per cent increase in the area of sugarcane is an evidence of a conducive environment and handsome payment to farmers during the present regime, the minister claimed.

UP will again become the highest sugarcane producing state in the country, a position that it maintained during the last two years, the minister said, adding that owing to untimely recent rains, the state has slipped to second position with a margin of few points this year.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)