Sugar production expected to rise but still lag last year

Hydraulic cranes lift sugarcane from trucks for processing at the ethanol plant at the Simbhaoli Integrated Sugar Complex in Simbhaoli, Uttar Pradesh, India, in this, March 7, 2006 file photo. All across Asia, governments are searching the plantations and farm fields for crops that can help them offset their dependence on imported oil. Plans by China and India to greatly increase their domestic production of biofuels will put greater pressure on their water supplies and, in turn, undermine their ability to meet future food demands, according to a study released Thursday. (AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi, File) | Photo Credit: MUSTAFA QURAISHI

Sugar production in the current sugar season, which started on October 1, 2023, is estimated to be 15 lakh tonnes higher than the production expected at the beginning of the season.

However, according to the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories, sugar production in the 2023-24 sugar season is projected to be 305 lakh tonne as against 330.9 lakh tonnes the earlier season.

The Federation’s Managing Director Prakash Naiknavare and President Jaiprakash Dandegaonkar said in a press release that from October 1 to December 31, 2023, 511 factories crushed 1,223 lakh tonnes of sugarcane, producing 112 lakh tonnes of sugar as against 125 lakh tonnes produced during the same period last season.

“There are signs of sugar production going up (in the coming weeks),” Mr. Naiknavare told The Hindu.

The Federation and the Indian Sugar Mills Association will represent to the government seeking relaxation of restrictions on ethanol production, he said.

Published - January 02, 2024 08:29 pm IST