About one-fifth of Karnataka’s 54 sugar mills have already started cane crushing for the new sugar season, V Govinda Reddy, secretary of the South India Sugar Mills Association, said.
He said 7-8 mills in southern Karnataka started cane crushing in early September, while 3-4 mills in the northern part of the state commenced cane crushing post Dussehra. Mills in the state usually begin cane crushing in the first week of October.
Reddy said many mills in the state started crushing operations early this year as competition for cane is high due to an expected drop in sugarcane output amid lower ratoon crop.
He said mills are also offering higher cane price to farmers this year due to tight supplies.
“Mills in southern Karnataka are paying about Rs 150 a quintal for sugarcane as against Rs 130 in the previous season, while those in northern Karnataka, where sugar recoveries are higher, are paying about Rs 180 a quintal,” Reddy said.
Last season, sugar mills in northern part of the state paid about Rs 155 a quintal for cane as against the statutory minimum price of Rs 81.18 a quintal set by the central government. This season, too, the cane price being paid by mills is much higher than the statutory minimum price of Rs 107.76 a quintal set by the central government.
Karnataka government does not set any state advised price for cane, a practice followed in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana.
Reddy said an early start to the cane crushing season was unlikely to hit sugar recovery from cane, which is seen higher this year in many parts of the state due to good rains in most cane growing regions. He said despite a drop in cane acreage, sugar output in the southern part of the state is seen increasing about 10 per cent on year to 1.8 million tonnes as sugar recoveries are seen higher in the new season.
