Sugar production in UP to cross 100 lakh tonnes: Industry

New Delhi, Dec 14 (IANS) Industry body, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), on Thursday said that sugar production in Uttar Pradesh was set to cross 100 lakh tonnes in 2017 and the total countrywide production was expected to be 251 lakh tonnes.

Sugar production in major sugarcane growing state of Maharashtra had gone down to 42 lakh tonnes in 2016-17.

"This year, we are expecting it to be 70 lakh tonnes in Maharashtra. In Uttar Pradesh it will be 101 lakh tonnes this year as against 87 lakh tonnes last year," a ISMA Director General Avinash Verma told reporters on sidelines of its annual general meeting.

In Karanataka, the production is set to increase by three lakh tonnes to 25 lakh tonnes, this year.

In 2016-17, sugar production had slumped to 203 lakh tonnes due to drought-like situation in sugar producing Maharashtra and southern states.

Sugar year starts from October.

Taking into an account hike in production this year, the ISMA also sought preferential import duty or decrease in import duty for Indian sugar in neighbouring Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

These countries import 25 to 30 lakh tonnes, annually.

"While Sri Lanka levies $150 per tonne, Bangladesh charges $100 per tonne. So we have asked the government to seek preferential duty structure from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for Indian sugar as production is going to be surplus this year," Verma said.