Sugar lying in open damaged in Maharashtra

An estimated 1.5 million tonnes of sugar worth around Rs 4,500 crore is lying in open space in Maharashtra due to lack of covered storage. Owing to the incessant rain, the stock is liable to spoilage due to high moisture.

“We do not expect this stock to get washed away in the rain. But, high moisture will surely affect the quality of the sweetener,” said Narendra Murkumbi, president of Indian Sugar Mills Association (Isma) at the sideline of a press meet here on Tuesday.

According to Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Sangh, 141 mills crushed nearly 80 million tonnes of cane to produce 9 million tonnes of sugar this year.

The average recovery was estimated at 11.29 per cent. Last year, the largest sugar producing state reported an output of nearly 7.1 million tonnes after crushing 62 million tonnes of cane.

“The slow progress in lifting of sugar and disappointing spot price has resulted into high inventory across the country, of which Maharashtra is the largest victim,” Murkumbi said.

Other than Maharashtra, the industry is witnessing sugar stored in the open in Karnataka. This is a desperate situation for the industry which requires protection from the government, says Isma.

“We want mills to survive to protect the interest of farmers so that they would continue cultivating cane next season as well. In a desperate situation, farmers divert area to other remunerative crops,” Murkumbi added. The industry estimates cane area to decline severely in 2012-13 due to lower realisation.