4.5 mn farmers in the state are directly dependent on the crop; price raised ahead of national elections
Maharashtra's sugar production fell to 5.1 million tons from 6.09 million tons, while Karnataka's production dropped 12.7% to 3.1 mn tons, the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories said
The distillery in its petition to the Karnataka High Court said that as it produces only ethanol and not sugar from cane
In sugarcane it is either through sugarcane juice or syrup, then B-heavy molasses and C-heavy molasses, while in grains it is mostly damaged foodgrains or maize
The ethanol blending programme is now all set to get delayed by a few years, with the sugar situation not looking very encouraging for the next few years
The food ministry has issued a fresh order reversing ban on the use of sugarcane juice for making ethanol and allowed utilisation of the juice as well as B-heavy molasses to produce the green fuel in the 2023-24 supply year. The revised order comes days after the Centre on December 7 banned use of sugarcane juice and sugar syrup for the 2023-24 supply year (November-October) in an order to ensure adequate sugar supply in the domestic market and check prices. In a directive issued to all sugar mills and distilleries, the ministry said the oil marketing companies (OMCs) will issue a "revised allocation" of "sugarcane juice and B heavy molasses-based ethanol" for the 2023-24 supply year to "each distillery". OMCs have been asked to inform the food ministry after placement of revised contracts. After receiving the revised allocation, sugar mills and distilleries have been asked to supply ethanol strictly as per the revised quantity of cane juice and B-heavy molasses. "No diversion of
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday said he met with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to discuss the Centre's ban on the use of sugarcane juice or syrup in the production of ethanol. Talking to reporters on the Vidhan Bhavan premises, Pawar said he met Gadkari on Sunday and discussed the ban. However, the issue needed to be addressed at the Central level, and he will meet Union Minister Amit Shah soon. Last week, the Centre announced a ban on the use of sugarcane juice and sugar syrup' for ethanol production in the 2023-24 supply year, which started this month, to maintain adequate sugar availability for domestic consumption and to keep prices under check. However, the government has allowed the use of 'B-molasses', a cane by-product, for ethanol production in 2023-24. "Since this issue is at the Central level, we will have to visit Delhi and meet Union Minister Amit Shah and the others concerned. And we will be meeting them soon," Pawar said. Ethanol, a colourless
The latest government direction has come as negative news for sugar companies, with their stocks trading lower for the second day on Friday
The 2023-24 sugar season started in October, while the ethanol supply year (ESY) started in November
The sugarcane crushing operation in the 2023-23 season is in full swing post-Diwali across the country, trade body AISTA said on Tuesday. Sugar season runs from October to September. "The crushing operation is in full swing across the country now. All sugar factories have started the crushing," All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA) chairman Praful Vithalani told PTI. Some mills had begun the crushing operation during mid-October. However, it picked up post-Diwali, he said. There are about more than 700 installed sugar factories in the country with crushing capacity of about 340 lakh tonnes of sugar, as per the official data. The country's total sugarcane production is estimated to be higher at 434.79 million tonnes in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June), as against 422.25 million tonnes in the previous year, as per the first estimate released by the agriculture ministry. There was an opening stock of sugar at 5.7 million tonnes as of October 1 in view of slight decline in the .
Their assumption is based on the sugarcane crushing that has taken place in major growing states in the first month and half of the 2023-24 new season
The trade body did not provide an estimate for net sugar production after the diversion of sucrose for ethanol production, but it stated that the output would exceed the country's annual consumption
State utility clears Rs 1,361 cr pending dues to Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar
The bid document was floated a few days back, and the validity of the bids was till July 31, 2024
Nearly 4.5 million households are directly associated with sugarcane farming in the state
The 2022-23 ethanol supply year will end on October 31, a month ahead of the earlier schedule. This will align it with the sugar production season
Sugar is the most highly controlled commodity in the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) basket
The request for relaxation has been made due to the increased cost associated with the use of jute bags, as well as the operational challenges they present
Successful variety helped farmers and millers alike but has fallen prey to red rot disease
BMI says that there is currently a fast development of additional capacity to produce ethanol in India, where the biofuel is made mainly from sugarcane