Sugar mills to face borrowing woes as banks keep sector on 'caution list'

Lenders have been conservative in sanctioning limits for the crushing season 2018-19

In a major blow for struggling sugar mills, banks have kept the sector on the “caution list”, which may worsen factories’ borrowing to meet their working capital requirements for the 2018-19 crushing season

Struggling to deal with the excess supply despite a number of government incentives, sugar mills currently owe farmers around Rs 180 billion for the cane supplied during the crushing season 2017-18.

Since prices of sugar crashed from Rs 36-37 a kg in the beginning of the season to Rs 30-31 a kg now with intermittent volatility, clearing cane dues to farmers has been a herculean task for