Sugarcane yield may drop 15%

Inclement weather to bring output down in major producing states.

India's average sugarcane yield is estimated to decline by 15 per cent this year because of unfavourable climate during the crop maturing period.

NOT SO SWEET

Maharashtra likely to experience a yield decline of 16-18 per cent to 62-63 tonnes per hectare

In Uttar Pradesh, yield expected to fall by 12-15 per cent to 58 tonnes

Total cane available for crushing likely to decline to 760 lakh tonnes

The yield in Maharashtra, the country's largest sugar producing state, is likely to decline by 16-18 per cent to 62-63 tonnes per hectare compared with 73  tonnes per hectare during the last sugar season (October -September). 

Similarly, the output in Uttar Pradesh, the second largest sugar producing state, is set to fall by 12-15 per cent to 58 tonnes from 65 tonnes last year.

The total cane available for crushing is likely to decline this year to 760 lakh tonnes compared with 798 lakh tonnes  last year and the earlier estimate of 800 lakh tonnes. Total sugar output in the sate is expected to decline to 86 lakh tonnes this year compared with 92 lakh tonnes last year.

Similarly, the output in Uttar Pradesh is likely to record around 84 lakh tonnes in comparison with 88-89 lakh tonnes last year. Meanwhile, the sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh are unlikely to extend this season beyond March.

In fact, some  of the state's large units have started considering closure of crushing units this season. B J Maheshwari, company secretary, Dwarikesh Sugar Industries, said the output was largely affected by unseasonal rains and the delay in harvesting of matured crop.

Since the rainfed sugarcane crop does not require any additional rains for maturing, unseasonal spells result in the crop maturing without full sucrose content. High humidity is another factor hindering the crop's growth.

But recovery is likely to remain high throughout the country, with Uttar Pradesh expecting an average recovery of 9.4 per cent and Maharashtra 12 per cent this year as against 9.0 and 11.5 per cent, respectively, last year.

Also, following a rift on farmers' arrears in Uttar Pradesh, crushing was delayed by 45  days in the state.

Meanwhile, sugar mills in Maharashtra would continue crushing till early May, said a source at the Cane Commissioner's office.