Jaggery is sugarcane based natural sweetener made by the concentration of sugarcane juice without any use of chemicals.
It is available in the form of solid blocks and in semi-liquid form. Besides this, the sap collected from some palm trees such as
palmyra-palm (Borassus flabellifer L.), coconut-palm (Cocos nucifera L.), wild date-palm (Phoenix sylvestris Roxb.) and sagopalm
(Caryota urens L.) is used for preparation of jaggery. It contains the natural sources of minerals and vitamins inherently
present in sugarcane juice and it is one of the most wholesome and healthy sugars in the world. The micro nutrients present in
the jaggery possess antitoxic and anti-carcinogenic properties. In India, of the 300 Mt of sugarcane produced, 53% is processed
into white sugar, 36% into jaggery and khandsari, 3% for chewing as cane juice and 8% as seed cane. The methods of converting
sugarcane and manufacturing sugar, gur and khandsari are different but a great value is added in the manufacturing of these
consumable final products. Further it offers employment opportunity to millions of people. Of the total world production, more
than 70% of the jaggery is produced in India but most of the jaggery business suffers from losses. The development of different
value added products from jaggery and their commercial availability becomes needs of the hour to sustain future profitability in
the jaggery trade