Gadkari Asks Sugar Producers, To Reduce Output

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday asked the sugar industry to reduce the production of sweetner stressing that higher output would create problem for the future. Speaking at the ISMA conference here, the minister for road transport and highways suggested that the alternative for sugar is ethanol.

"My request is reduce the production of sugar otherwise the future is very bad," the minister said. "If you are going to increase more production it will create more complication more problem for the future," the minister explained. The minister said that India's export of 80 lakh tonnes of sugar was only possible because the rate of sweetner was very high in Brazil.

"This year they (Brazil) are going to increase production and then it will be a problem for us," the minister explained. India is the number one consumer and second largest producer of sugar in the world, he said and added that the problem is that in Brazil the production of sweetner is very high. He also suggested the industry to shift to soyabean production as it is economically more viable when compared to sugar.

(PTI)