sugarcane: Maharashtra bans interstate sale of sugarcane as drought cuts production

2023-09-19 10:35:34

The Maharashtra government has restricted sugarcane farmers from selling their produce outside the state in a bid to ensure that there is enough cane for the state’s mills to run at maximum capacity.

Erratic rainfall this year has led to a drought-like situation in Maharashtra, the country’s second-largest sugar producer, and it is likely to see a big drop in sugarcane yield.

Lower availability of cane leads to competition among sugar factories for the crop, resulting in mills poaching cane in each other’s jurisdiction. Farmers prefer to sell their sugarcane to the mills that pay higher prices.

The Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation, also known as the Sakhar Sangh, the apex body representing the co-operative sugar mills from the state had written to the state government about the need to take measures to ensure availability of sugarcane for the state’s sugar mills.

“The co-operative sugar mills from the state are likely to face an acute shortage of sugarcane, which can reduce the number of days for which they can operate,” said the Sakhar Sangh in a letter to the government. “This can result in losses for mills.”

In the 2022-23 sugar season, which will end on September 30, Maharashtra has produced 105 lakh tonnes of sugar, down by 23% from a year ago due to erratic rainfall. This year, a dry August has raised fears that sugar production in the 2023-24 season, which begins on October 1, will dip to about 90 lakh tonnes, which would be about 14% lower than a year ago.”A large number of sugar mills from the state have reported that farmers are selling their cane for fodder as they may not survive the dry conditions,” said a senior executive of the state’s sugar industry, requesting not to be named.Maharashtra’s southern districts, including Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara–known as the sugar bowl of the state–account for nearly a fourth of the state’s sugar output. During sugarcane shortage, this region faces competition for sugarcane from sugar mills in bordering districts of Karnataka.

Apart from stopping sale of sugarcane to mills in other states, the Sakhar Sangh has also demanded that no other sector, like jaggery manufacturing units, khandsari units, etc., should not be allowed to harvest and crush sugarcane before the official start date for the sugarcane crushing season.

For every sugar year (October-September), the state government decides the start date for the crushing operation. Mills that begin crushing before this date are liable to be charged by the government.

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