MUMBAI, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Indian mills produced 7.4 million metric tons of sugar between Oct. 1 and Dec. 15, a 10.7% fall from the previous year, as many mills in Maharashtra and Karnataka started operations nearly a fortnight late this year, a leading trade body said on Monday.
Maharashtra's sugar production fell to 2.44 million tons from 3.3 million tons, while Karnataka's production dropped 11.7% to 1.7 million tons, the Indian Sugar Mills Association said in a statement.
Production in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh rose 9% to 2.2 million tons as mills started operations early there, it said.
India has decided to allow sugar mills to divert up to 1.7 million tons of sugar for ethanol production, government and industry officials said on Friday, as New Delhi aims to reduce disruptions in its ambitious biofuel programme.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi facing election next year, India, which is highly sensitive to food inflation, was likely to ban sugar exports, the first restriction on exports since 2016. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
