Sugar production in the country between October 1 and November 15 for the current sugar season has touched 20.90 lakh tonne, as many sugar mills began crushing operations early. Last year, sugar mills had produced 16.82 lakh tonne in the same period.
Compared to 289 sugar factories, which were crushing sugarcane till November 15, 308 sugar mills are crushing sugarcane this year in the same period, a statement issued by the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said. With an estimated sugar production of 305 lakh tonne, India will have another surplus year and could export about 60 lakh tonne of the surplus sugar during 2021-22 season, the trade body said.
Several sugar mills in the south and west started their operations earlier this season, because of which sugar production till November 15 this year is slightly higher, the trade body said. Sugar mills have so far contracted to export 25 lakh tonne of sugar in the 2021-22 season. Out of this, about 2.7 lakh tonne has been physically exported out of the country in October. Last year, around 1.96 lakh tonne were exported in the corresponding month, ISMA said. As per market reports, another over 2 lakh tonne is in pipeline to be physically exported this month.
Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, crushing season in the current season was delayed by a few days due to unseasonal rains in third week of October. Currently, 74 sugar mills have started crushing operations for this season and have produced 2.88 lakh tonne of sugar, ISMA said. Last year in the same period, 76 mills were in operation and they had produced 4 lakh tonne of sugar. The crushing season in Maharashtra and Karnataka started from the second week of October. In Maharashtra, 134 sugar mills have commenced their crushing operations by November 2021 and have produced 8.91 lakh tonne of sugar. Around 120 mills operated last season to produce 6 lakh tonne of sugar in the corresponding period. In Karnataka, 63 sugar mills were in operation as on November 15 and have produced 7.62 lakh tonne, as against 60 mills which were operating last year to produce 5.66 lakh tonne of sugar at the same time.
Against an annual requirement of 459 crore litres of ethanol by the oil marketing companies (OMCs) for 2021-22 ethanol supply year, around 414 crore litres of bids have been submitted in the first expression of interest invited by OMCs. The bids are under examination and agreements are expected to be signed soon.
In Gujarat, 14 sugar mills were crushing on November 15 and have produced 75,000 tonne of sugar. Last year 14 mills were in operation and they had produced 80,000 tonne of sugar during the same time. Among the remaining states like Uttarakhand, Bihar, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, about 23 factories have commenced their crushing operations and they have together produced 74,000 tonne till November 15, 2021.
The above news was originally posted on www.financialexpress.com
