But, UP crushing season may end early on cane shortage.
A sweet surprise is in store for Maharashtra as the state’s sugar production in the current season ending September will be 6.25 per cent higher at 5.1 million tonnes. The state will continue to remain the country’s biggest sugar producing state.
However, things are not as bright for mills in Uttar Pradesh (UP), the country’s second biggest producer as sugarcane diversion continues to remain high.
“Maharashtra had received unseasonal rain between October and December last year, as a result of which the standing sugarcane crop gained weight. Mills will now run 30 days more than last year and will start closing from mid-April. Consequently, Maharashtra will crush 45.5 million tonnes of sugarcane as against the earlier estimate of 41 million tonnes and produce 5.1 million tonnes sugar against the earlier forecast of 4.8 million tonnes,” said Prakash Naiknavare, managing director of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation. He added that the estimates were revised in a meeting yesterday.
With this revision in Maharashtra’s forecast, the country’s sugar output for the season ending October 2010 might be close to the latest projection of 15.5 million tonnes by the Indian Sugar Mills Association. Output in the previous season was 14.7 million tonnes.
Meanwhile, the sugar mills in UP are staring at an early end to the crushing season due to low availability this year. Most of the sugar mills are likely to close by the end of this month with almost 26 units, mostly government-owned, already shut.
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“This year, a total of 128 sugar mills had participated in crushing against 132 last year. While, most of the mills would stop crushing by February end, about 10 mills may function till the middle of March,” a sugarcane department official said.
Due to acute shortage, the mills have started to pay almost Rs 260-265 a quintal against the State Advised Price (SAP) of Rs 165 a quintal. “Sugarcane diversion to gur units is high despite high payments. Farmers are holding back the harvest of sugarcane in anticipation of higher prices. However, mills may have to shut down by February end if the capacity utilization falls below 60 per cent. Currently, most mills are operating at 70-80 per cent capacity,” said CB Patodia, president of UP Sugar Mills Association and advisor to Birla Group of Sugar Companies.
So far, the mills had crushed 32 million tonnes of cane producing 2.8 million tonnes of sugar. According to industry estimates, UP production may be just close to 4 million tonnes compared with 4.05 million tonnes last season.