India has been known as the original home of sugar and sugarcane. Indian mythology supports the above fact as it contains legends showing the origin of sugarcane.

India is the second largest producer of sugarcane next to Brazil. Presently, about 4 million hectares of land is under sugarcane with an average yield of 70 tonnes per hectare. India is the largest single producer of sugar including traditional cane sugar sweeteners, khandsari and Gur equivalent to 26 million tonnes raw value followed by Brazil in the second place at 18.5 million tonnes. Even in respect of white crystal sugar, India has ranked No.1 position in 7 out of last 10 years. During 1998-99 India produced 17.0 million tonnes (155 lakh tonnes white sugar) while Brazil in Ist place produced 18.5

Traditional sweeteners Gur & Khandsari are consumed mostly by the rural population in India. In the early 1930 s nearly 2/3rd of sugarcane production was utilised for production of alternate sweeteners, Gur & Khandsari. With better standard of living and higher incomes, the sweetener demand has shifted to white sugar. Currently, about 1/3rd sugarcane production is utilised by the Gur & Khandsari sectors. Being in the small scale sector, these two sectors are completely free from controls and taxes which are applicable to the sugar sector. The advent of modern sugar processing industry in India began in 1930 with grant of tariff protection to the Indian sugar industry. The number of sugar mills increased from 30 in the year 1930 - 31 to 135 in the year 1935-36 and the production during the same period increased from 1.20 lakh tonnes to 9.34 lakh tonnes under the dynamic leadership of the private sector.

What is Sugar?

Sugar (sucrose) is a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in every fruit and vegetable. It is the major product of photosynthesis, the process by which plants transform the sun's energy into food. Sugar occurs in greatest quantities in sugar cane and sugar beets from which it is separated for commercial use.

How is Sugar Processed?

The natural sugar stored in the cane stalk or beet root is separated from the rest of the plant material. For sugar cane, this is accomplished by a) pressing the cane to extract the juice; b) boiling the juice until it begins to thicken and sugar begins to crystallize; c) spinning the crystals in a centrifuge to remove the syrup, producing raw sugar; d) shipping the raw sugar to a refinery where it is washed and filtered to remove remaining non-sugar ingredients and color; and e) crystallizing, drying and packaging the refined sugar.

Beet sugar processing is similar, but it is done in one continuous process without the raw sugar stage. The sugar beets are washed, sliced and soaked in hot water to separate the sugar-containing juice from the beet fiber. The sugar-laden juice is purified, filtered, concentrated and dried in a series of steps similar to cane sugar processing.

"Regular" Sugar, Extra Fine or Fine Sugar:

"Regular" sugar, as it is known to consumers, is the sugar found in every home's sugar bowl and most commonly used in home food preparation. It is the white sugar called for in most cookbook recipes. The food processing industry describes "regular" sugar as extra fine or fine sugar. It is the sugar most used by food processors because of its fine crystals that are ideal for bulk handling and are not susceptible to caking.