Maharashtra mills may crush cane from Oct 1

A majority of sugar mills in Maharashtra are likely to start crushing for the new season (2007-08) on October 1, the first day of the sugar year, to avoid a repetition of the cane farmers' plight last year.

"Sugar producers across the state have been directed to start crushing on October 1. Maintenance of plants are going on and boilers would be fired soon to start crushing on time," said Rajgopal Deora, Maharashtra Sugar Commissioner.

As a matter of practice, sugar mills fire boilers three weeks before the actual crushing.

Sugarcane farmers in the state are under tremendous pressure, owing to a large quantity of the uncrushed crop last year, which has doubled their financial burden.

But they got relief when the state government released sops of Rs 131 crore to compensate the uncrushed standing crop at an average rate of Rs 25,000 a hectare.

The government permitted the use of standing canes for jaggery production, which experts believe would result in a glut in the jaggery market. Jaggery producers are also likely to start crushing the standing crop from October.

According to an estimate, sugar producers across the country are losing Rs 4 on every kg of sugar produced because of high production and low price.

Last year, sugar prices declined by Rs 4-5 a kg to Rs 12.50-13 a kg, which is expected to decline further this year to Rs 11.50 a kg, a historical low on a bumper crop and high output estimates.

"In the current year, the government does not want to take any chance and, hence, sugar producers within the state have been instructed to take all possible measures to start crushing on October 1," said Prakash Naiknavare, managing director, Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation.

Rejecting a plea by sugar mills in the Marathwada region to commence crushing in the first week of November, Deora said all mills in the state had been directed to start crushing in time.