Business Standard

Maharashtra govt allows mills to postpone crushing

Image

Dilip Kumar Jha Mumbai

Since the scarcity of early monsoon rainfall has prolonged the maturity of the standing cane crop, sugar mills in Maharashtra have been allowed by the state government to postpone their plans to commence crushing for the season 2009-10 by a month.

Mills are now planning to harvest the matured standing crop by the end of October, to begin crushing in the first week of November, as against earlier plans for mid-September and October 1, respectively. The Ministers’ Committee on Sugarcane, headed by the Chief Minister, has directed mills to fire boilers only around Diwali, so that crushing could commence three weeks from then. However, multi-state mills or units close to the karnataka border may begin crushing earlier, with prior permission from the Committee.

 

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan had, in August, instructed mills to advance the season by a month, to increase supply ahead of the key Diwali season, amid apprehensions that the retail price could further escalate from the peak of Rs 35 a kg in September. But, supply constraints have been eased, with various state governments unearthing sugar worth Rs 120 crore from dozens of stockists, resulting in the price cooling to Rs 28-29 a kg. Hence, supply and price are no longer issues for sugar, said an industry source.

According to sources, mills are waiting for the crop to mature further as early varieties of cane are estimated to produce a recovery between 8-9 per cent only; the month’s delay may advance this to 11-11.5 per cent. Since, crushing of cane with such a low recovery will become unviable for mills, the government’s decision provided much-needed relief to crushing units, said Vijay Gujarathi, President, Pune Sugar Merchants Association.

Early harvesting is possible in the state as farmers allow the crop to mature fully between 12-14 months in Maharashtra, as compared to 8-10 months in Uttar Pradesh. But, it would have lowered the state’s overall productivity from the earlier estimates of 4.6 million tonnes of sugar on a total cane output of 40 million tonnes, almost the same of last year. The average recovery works out to 11.7 per cent in Maharashtra, as against between 9.5-11 per cent in other states.

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Oct 06 2009 | 12:13 AM IST

Explore News