Sugar output set to fall over 30% in Maharashtra

Sugar production in Maharashtra is likely to decline by over 30 per cent to around 6 million tonnes (MT) in the ongoing 2008-09 season mainly due to a lower sugarcane produce.

Maharashtra produced about 9.1 MT during the 2007-08 season (October-September) making the state the lar-gest sugar producer in the country. “The crushing was scheduled to begin in mid-October. But it has been delayed due to Diwali and now the cane crushing would begin in the state by October-end,” Maharashtra State Co-operative Sugar Factories Federation managing director Prakash Naiknavare said.

Naiknavare, however, noted that the delay in cane crushing would help increase sugar production. The delay in cane crushing would lead to a higher productivity as sugarcane would remain in the fields for a longer period, he added. Naiknavare said the sugar production in Maharashtra could touch 6 MT, up from the earlier estimate of 5.7 MT. The average sugar recovery stood at 11.94 per cent.