Govt sets molasses prodn target at 586L quintal for 2025-26 | Lucknow News

Lucknow: Rolling out the molasses policy for 2025-26, the cabinet on Tuesday set a target of producing 586 lakh quintals of the sugar industry byproduct during production year 2025-26.Industry players wait for the molasses policy as it governs the trade of country-made liquor and determines the profit margin of distilleries. The duty levied on the byproduct remained unchanged.The molasses policy is effective between Nov 1 and Oct 30 and is released in the last week of Oct or early Nov every year, ahead of the sugar crushing season.It is mandatory for the entity that places the order to procure molasses through centralised portal within 30 days, as was the mandate earlier. A fee of Rs 20 must be paid for every quintal over the locally manufactured molasses as well as the one procured from other states.Meanwhile, entrepreneurs interested in setting up molasses manufacturing units with a capacity to produce up to 1 lakh quintals annually must approach the excise commissioner for approval, while those interested in producing more than 1 lakh quintals must move their application before the state govt for approval.During the last sugarcane crushing season, 121 units were operational; this time, 122 units are operational, the majority of which are owned by private players.Enterprises and manufacturing units that produce unrefined sugar (‘khandsari’) are allowed to pay the fees according to the estimated production over online platform. About 48.5% of the overall revenue generated by excise department is collected through country made liquor trade in a year. The demand for country made liquor is expected to increase by 15% during the 2025-26 financial year.