The UP government has given its nod to sugar mills and distilleries for the production of rectified spirit and extra-neutral alcohol-ENA from sugarcane juice and B-heavy molasses. This is said to enhance the availability of raw materials to the liquor industry, reports NTDV Profit.
Atul Chaturvedi, Executive Chairman of Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd, said, “The supply of raw material to liquor companies will surely improve, which is a very good omen for the whisky and Indian-made foreign liquor brands,”.
The new policy change announced by the government is supposed to benefit Uttar Pradesh as one of the largest sugarcane and alcohol producers. The new rules passed allow the manufacturing of rectified spirit and ENA, which the move is welcomed by the leaders in the industry. The earlier ban was imposed to avoid scarcity of sugarcane.
With over 16 billion litres, the state’s capacity to distil is believed to meet this upsurge in demand. Besides, the approval by the government to divert 2.3 million tonnes of rice for ethanol production is a factor lending confidence to that capacity. No new infrastructure would be required for the increase, but it will help make better use of the existing facilities.
Although these new regulations would not substantially raise the overall revenue, they will surely bring in more efficiency in the sugar industry. Chaturvedi added that ethanol derived from the sugar industry, which had dropped to 46% due to the previous restrictions, was likely to rise to 65-70%. This should balance ethanol production between the sugar and grain sectors.
This would result in higher production from the Uttar Pradesh-based liquor fraternity, more so in whiskies and Indian-made foreign liquors, due to stabilization of production levels as a result of enhanced supply of raw materials.
Chaturvedi also added that favourable rains in the monsoon season in main states such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have brought good sugarcane crops, further ensuring the industry’s growth.
