The government today said that there are 162 sugar mills, which can be considered as sick and are not functioning due to various reasons.
The are over 162 sugar mills in the country, which are considered as sick, Minister of State for food and agriculture K V Thomas said in a response to a written query in the Lok Sabha. Of these, 139 are in the cooperative sector while the rest 23 are in the private sector, he added.
The main reasons for sickness of these sugar mills were non-availability of adequate raw material, poor recovery from sugarcane, lack of modernisation, high cost of working capital, control of molasses, lack of professional management and over-staffing, Thomas said.
Besides, high state advised prices of sugarcane by some states is responsible for sickness of some sugar mills in the country.
There are about 600-odd sugar mills in the country.
