Despite a 40 per cent drop in sugarcane production during the current sugar season (October 2008-September 2009), sugar mills in Karnataka are continuing to add capacity. As many as 17 sugar mills are in different stages of construction in the state. These will be in addition to 54 existing sugar mills that have a combined capacity of 215,450 tonnes crushed per day (TCD).
The new mills are expected to add close to 25 per cent to the current crushing capacity in the next two-three years. At present, out of the 17 new mills, around 12 are active. Apart from these, the state high-level clearance committee last month cleared two proposals by existing sugar mills to add a combined capacity of 8,000 TCD.
Though the exact capacity being added is not known, it is estimated that the minimum capacity will be 2,500 TCD per plant. Addition of 2,500 TCD requires an investment of Rs 150-200 crore.
Among the mills that are adding new capacities are Shree Renuka Sugars, which is adding 5,000 TCD, and Vishwanath Sugar, which is adding 3,000 TCD.
The new mills coming up in the state are Basaveshwar Sugars, Devichand Sugars, Shivashakti Sugar Factory, Bireshwar Sugar, Hemraus Technologies, Gokak Sugar Factory (all in Belgaum district); Bhalkeshwar Sugar factory, Bidar Kisan Sugars (both in Bidar district); Manali Sugars, KPR Sugars, Siddeshwara Sakkare Karkhane, Indian Sugar Manufacturing (all in Bijapur district); Chincholi Sugar factory, Keerthi Industries, Cogreen Sakkare Karkhane (all in Gulbarga district); and Chamundeshwari Sugars in Hassan district.
During the ongoing sugar season, four out of 54 mills did not crush due to shortage of cane. This year, sugarcane production in the state slipped to around 15.3 million tonnes, around 42 per cent less than in the previous year. It is estimated that next season, starting on October 2009, will see two-three new mills start operations, industry sources say.
More From This Section
According to advance estimates by the South Indian Sugar Mills’ Association (SISMA), sugarcane production during the next season is likely to go up by 10-15 per cent to 17.5- 18 million tonnes. This is because of a 33 per cent rise in the statutory minimum price of sugarcane to Rs 1070.76 a tonne announced by the Centre for the next sugar season, says SISMA.
The department of agriculture as well as the statistics department in the state have estimated that close to 400,000 hectares is under sugarcane at present, about 50 per cent of which will have harvestable cane in the coming season. According to their estimates, the area under cane cultivation is likely to see a drop of around 9.5 per cent over the previous year.