Crushing season begins in Maharashtra; competition among mills for cane set to rise under drought shadow
Drought-hit Maharashtra sugar mills face intensifying competition for limited sugarcane as crushing begins ahead of the October 15 deadline. Natural Sugar has set a 12 lakh-tonne crushing target and announced a first instalment of ₹3,300 per tonne, prioritising severely dried cane.
Kolhapur: The state government has permitted the sugarcane crushing season to start from October 15 this year, but many sugar mills across the state had already begun crushing in the first week of October. Mills in Marathwada have joined those in Western Maharashtra in starting operations. Actual crushing is already underway at some mills, while others are expected to begin within the next two days. With drought hanging over this season, sugar mills face the big task of securing adequate cane, and competition among them for cane is likely to heat up.
Drought conditions have affected how much cane is available. Uneven rainfall and unreliable water supply in many parts of the state this year have taken a toll on the sugarcane crop. As cane has not grown as expected in some areas, mill managements are assessing the cane area available to them. There are also fears of a steep fall in cane weight. Western Maharashtra is regarded as the state’s main sugar producing belt, and this season will be an important one for sugar mills in Pune, Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur districts. Mills in Marathwada, meanwhile, may also run into problems like water shortage and limited cane availability. To keep the crushing season on track, mills are paying close attention to cane harvesting and transport arrangements.
Mills are having to work hard to gather enough cane. Since cane availability is expected to stay limited this year, the race among mills to procure cane could intensify. Mills with larger crushing capacities will have to ensure a continuous supply of cane to run at full capacity, and if availability falls short of estimates, reaching their crushing targets could prove difficult. With this in mind, sugar mills are concentrating on increasing the number of harvesting gangs, tractors, trucks, bullock carts and harvester machines. Keeping in touch with cane growers, scheduling harvests and clearing transport hurdles have become particularly important this season. Some mills have also begun trying to source cane from areas beyond their command areas, and competition among mills over cane supply is expected to get even tougher.
The cane price and first instalment will matter most to farmers. As mills compete harder for cane, the cane price, the first instalment and timely payments will also come to the fore. When choosing which mill to send their crop to, farmers may weigh the harvesting schedule and transport arrangements alongside the cane price. How long the crushing season lasts this year, and whether mills manage to get enough cane, will become clear in the days ahead. The course of this season will depend to a large extent on the drought situation, cane availability and the mills’ plans of action.
Talking to ChiniMandi about the crushing season, B. B. Thombare, founder and chairman of Natural Sugar, said his mill has set a target of crushing 12 lakh metric tonnes of cane in the coming season. He said a first instalment of Rs 3,300 per tonne will be paid for cane delivered to the mill for crushing. Also, cane from fields where it has dried up severely due to water shortage will be taken up for crushing on priority. Against the backdrop of the drought, Natural Sugar’s announcement is being seen as important for farmers. It remains to be seen what steps the state’s other sugar mills will take to secure cane and offer better payments to farmers.
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Source : ChiniMandi
