Maharashtra : This sugar cane crushing season was shortest in past decade
Maharashtra’s 2024-25 sugarcane crushing season is the shortest in a decade, lasting about 100 days due to delayed starts and lower cultivation. By Feb 11, 14 mills had shut operations, with Kolhapur and Sangli mills expected to close by March. Experts warn of financial strain on mills, affecting farmer payments and staff salaries amid reduced revenue.
Kolhapur: The 2024-25 sugar cane crushing season in Maharashtra is set to end soon and according to experts, this season was the shortest of the past 10 crushing seasons. Every year, the crushing season usually starts mid-Oct and continues till the end of March or even the first week of April. This amounts to 140-150 days of crushing. This time, however, because of the elections and low sugar cane cultivation, the crushing season was delayed until the end of Nov. Most mills in Maharashtra could start operations only by Nov-end.By Feb 11, as many as 14 sugar mills had ended their crushing operations, most of them in Solapur district. Next, sugar mills in Marathwada will stop their operations. Mills in Kolhapur and Sangli may be the last to wrap up the crushing season by the end of Feb or the first week of March.Vijay Autade, a sugar industry expert, said, “Normally, there are 140-150 days in the crushing season. The volume of sugar cane available usually takes that many days to crush. However, last year, cultivation declined, and the season is likely to end sooner, with mills operating for not more than 100 days. It affects the mills’ revenue, bur expenses — payments to farmers, salaries of the employees, maintenance costs — remain almost the same. The mills are likely to face unprecedented liquidity shortage at the end of the season and they may not be able to repay the farmers and pay salaries of the staffers.”
Last year, the crushing season started on Nov 1. There was a decline in the sugar cane cultivation area in comparison to the previous years, but most mills were still crushing till March-end. The 2022-23 season started on Oct 15, and 210 mills were engaged in crushing, and the season lasted for an average of 120 days, producing 105 lakh tonne of sugar. In 2021-22, the sugar cane season lasted for 145 days, though around 20 sugar mills ran for almost 160 days due to high sugar cane production. That season, the crushing started on Oct 1.
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Source : The Times Of India
