Govt's move to regulate Khandsari Sugar units see a weak start

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Vijay C Roy 2 min read 14 Oct 2025, 09:07 PM IST The move is aimed at ensuring reasonable prices for farmers and combating an unnoticed distraction of sugarcane and molasses. (Reuters) Summary of India’s Khandsari industry is slowly adapting to new regulations aimed at ensuring reasonable prices and transparency. With only 11 out of the 66 large units registered, the government expects an increase in the compliance as the sugarcane crushing season approaches. New -Delhi: The government’s attempt to bring India’s traditional Khandsari, or unrefined sugar, under formal regulation, had a slow start, with only 11 of the 66 large units registered so far on the National Single Window System (NSWS) portal, two people said aware of the case. Registrations are likely to pick up at the start of the Sugarcane Crushing season next month, people in the industry said. Kandsari units, small factories in the cottage style that produce unrefined sugar cane sugar, were ordered under the sugar (control) in May, 2025. Units with a crushing capacity of more than 500 tonnes per day (TCD) were brought under regulatory supervision. The move, which aims to ensure reasonable prices for farmers and to combat unnoticed distraction from sugarcane and molasses, is the key to improving transparency in the sugar and ethanol value chain and improving the accuracy of India’s sugar production estimates. Ethanol oversees The decision supports the broader goals of the government, especially the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program. Since sugarcane juice and syrup are a critical feed for ethanol production, it is essential to ensure that large quantities are not derived without supervision. Accurate detection of the use of sugarcane will help to align ethanol output targets and the availability of sugar more efficiently. There are 373 operational Khandsari units across India with a joint crushing ability of approximately 95,000 TCD. Of these, 66 units fall under the new by -law, as it exceeds 500 TCD capacity, which collectively makes up about 55,200 TCD. “About 11 units registered themselves on the NSWS portal and a majority of them are from Maharashtra,” the first person quoted above. Of the total 66 units, about 50 are in Uttar Pradesh. On a question about the reason for the poor response, the second official said: “The Khandsari units work almost 90-120 days a year. The sugar (control) order, 2025, was set on May 1. The Khandsari industry is a seasonal. “We couldn’t register as our season ended in March so our office was closed. But we’ll be registered to Diwali before the start of the crushing season,” an official said at a Khandsari unit. Experts in the industry said the lack of oversight of the Khandsari units has led to issues such as unnoticed distractions from sugarcane and molasses, which led to income losses and disruptions against the sugar and ethanol supply chains. The regulation of these large units will help improve accountability and ultimately benefit farmers. “The units must pay the fair and compensation price (FRP) for sugarcane, just like the usual sugar mills,” said Puneet Singh Thind, a farm expert and founder of a Northern Farmers Mega Farmer Producer Organization (FPO). Inquiries regarding the development sent by e -mail to the Ministry of Food and Public Distribution were unanswered until purple time. Catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #Sugar Read Next Story