Sugar industry body ISMA is considering transporting excess molasses in the mills of Uttar Pradesh to those in Tamil Nadu, where a drought-hit sugarcane crop is threatening to keep sugar mills and their ancillary units idle and deepen losses. Molasses, an end-product of the sugar refining process, is processed to make ethanol and spirit, among other products. On the back of a good sugarcane crop in Uttar Pradesh, the mills in the state are expected to produce more of sugar this year. Production of molasses is set to rise proportionally, creating a problem of excess for millers who, until recently, had to reserve a fifth of the molasses produced for sale to country liquor manufacturers. The state government eased the rule recently.
Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) is deliberating on the feasibility of transporting the excess molasses to millers in Tamil Nadu so that it can be processed to make ethanol and other by-products, thereby helping them cut losses.
Though the government recently allowed import of 3 lakh tonnes of raw sugar, mainly for southern sugar mills, only a handful from Tamil Nadu will actually be importing. Most mills have backed out from importing on the grounds that 25 per cent import duty and the fall in domestic sugar prices have made imports unviable.