In January’s conclusion, the President of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories, Jaiprakash Dandegaonkar, disclosed that the country witnessed an upsurge in sugar production. A total of 1928 lakh tonnes of sugar was crushed across 517 factories, yielding 187 lakh tonnes with an average recovery rate of 9.71 per cent.
Comparatively, this year, five factories in Karnataka and one in Gujarat completed their crushing and sugar production. Maharashtra, the leading state in sugarcane production, crushed 676 lakh tonnes with a 9.60 per cent average recovery, resulting in 65 lakh tonnes of sugar. The crushing season in Maharashtra is projected to extend until mid-April.
Uttar Pradesh, ranking second, processed 574 lakh tonnes of sugarcane, producing 57.65 lakh tonnes of new sugar with an average recovery of 10.5 per cent. The sugar season in Uttar Pradesh is anticipated to last until mid-May. Karnataka, the third-ranking state, crushed 377 lakh tonnes of sugar, yielding 37 lakh tonnes with an average recovery of 9.75 per cent. Considering sugarcane crushing, average sugar recovery, and production in other states, the estimated total new sugar production in the country stands at 314 lakh tonnes.
This boost in sugar production is attributed to the return of rains and restrictions on diverting sugar to ethanol production. Shri Dandegaonkar noted that while expected sugar production falls short by 17 lakh tonnes compared to last year’s 331 lakh tonnes, there’s an estimated reserve of 75 to 80 lakh tonnes of sugar.
The National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories has urged the central government to permit the use of at least 15 lakh tonnes of additional sugar in ethanol production. This would facilitate the utilization of B heavy molasses for ethanol production, aiding distilleries in resolving financial challenges.