Sugar production to take a hit in Maharashtra

Sugar production in Maharashtra is likely to take a hit this year as poor climatic conditions have caused large-scale damage to sugarcane crop, an official said on Thursday. Only 150 sugar factories in Maharashtra are likely to be operational this year compared to 195 last year, the official added.

"Drought-like condition that prevailed in the state over the last three years and unseasonal rainfall this year have posed problems for sugarcane cultivation," Maharashtra State Co-operative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd chairman and former MLA Jayprakash Dandegaonkar said.

"Sugar production in the state will decrease this year, as we expect only 150 sugar factories to take up production compared to 195 last year," he said.

Last year, 102  co-operative and 93 private factories were engaged in sugar production, he said. While 850 lakh tonnes of sugarcane was crushed in 2018, the quantum has come down to 550 lakh tonnes this year, he added.

"The quality of the crop has also suffered, which is why the quality of sugar produced is likely to be affected," he added. The official, however, said that although the production is set to go down, the price of sugar in the country will remain unaffected as there was enough stock to meet the market demand.