Sugar production falls 35% to 4.5 million tonnes due to delayed crushing

Sugar export contracts worth 2 MT firmed up by domestic mills

Delayed sugarcane crushing in Maharashtra continues to cast its shadow on the domestic sugar production, which fell by 35 per cent to 4.58 million tonnes (MT) in the ongoing sugar season till December 15, 2019, compared to the corresponding period last year.

Against a total output of 4.58 MT by 406 mills in India this season, 473 sugar mills had produced 7.05 MT of the sweetener by this time during the 2018-19 cycle, according to Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) today.

Maharashtra, the country’s second largest sugar producer after Uttar Pradesh, witnessed inordinate delay in the start of crushing operations