The Maharashtra government has initiated a push to formally regulate the state’s largely unorganised jaggery (gur) industry — a move aimed at preventing the sale of adulterated or misdescribed products and bringing transparency to cash-heavy transactions. The proposal has drawn mixed responses from producers, farmers’ leaders and trade experts.
A committee of senior officials and technical experts under the Sugar Commissionerate has been tasked with drafting a dedicated law for this sector. The draft is expected within weeks and will then be examined by a cabinet sub-committee before being placed before the state cabinet. This signals the government intends an approach similar to existing sugar sector controls, including mandatory registration of jaggery units and norms for cane procurement, pricing, production standards and marketing.
Earlier this year, the Central government decided to notify draft amendments to the Sugar Control Order of 1966, seeking to streamline regulations and push gur and khandsari units to ensure payment of fair and remunerative prices (FRP) to cane farmers and enable accurate estimation of sugar production.
Advocates of regulation argue that clear legal definitions, quality standards and registration will protect genuine producers and curb unfair competition, especially in export markets.
But the small cottage-scale sector — already shrinking due to rising competition — sees risk. With sugar mills offering higher FRP every year, farmers often prefer to sell cane to mills.
Farmers’ leaders and jaggery producers also warn that applying Sugar Control provisions or FRP mechanisms to gur units could burden small producers with compliance costs and licensing requirements they cannot easily bear. Former MP and farmers’ leader Raju Shetti has warned that regulatory changes could disadvantage gur units and favour further expansion by sugar mills.
India is among the world’s largest producers and exporters of jaggery, with Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh among the key production centres. Export data shows sizeable shipments of gur and jaggery products in recent years.
At the same time, Maharashtra’s sugar sector has experienced sharp stress in recent sugar seasons, with industry reports pointing to a decline in sugar output in 2024–25 driven by a shorter crushing season and weather impacts. Around 31% of India’s annual sugarcane production of 435 million tonnes is consumed by the gur, khandsari and jaggery units. Any formalisation drive must take this competitive pressure into account.
Jaggery producers and farmers’ leaders want a careful, consultative approach. Suggested safeguards include phased implementation, exemptions or simplified compliance for very small units, technical and financial support for upgradation (hygiene, labelling, packaging), and market access assistance (brand building, export facilitation). The proposed law, they say, must be calibrated to modernise the sector without strangling the small, rural units that form the backbone of India’s jaggery economy.