Sugar recovery in question: Farmers allege Rs 9,000 crore loss due to underreporting by mills
Farmer leader Raghunathdada Patil has accused Maharashtra sugar mills of underreporting sugar recovery rates, allegedly causing farmers losses exceeding Rs 9,000 crore each crushing season. Farmer groups claim actual sugar recovery from cane is significantly higher than officially reported, raising concerns over transparency, regulation, and competition within the state’s sugar industry.
Farmer leader Raghunathdada Patil has alleged that sugar mills in the state are deliberately underreporting sugar recovery from sugarcane, resulting in losses of over Rs 9,000 crore to farmers each crushing season.
The allegation follows findings from Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, which indicate that sugar recovery can exceed 15 percent under normal conditions. Data provided by the university’s Central Sugarcane Research Centre at Padegaon shows that the widely grown Co 86032 variety yields 13.59 percent recovery at 12 months and rises to 15.75 percent when harvested after 14 months, Agrowon reported.
Farmer groups argue that despite such scientific data, sugar mills routinely report recovery levels of only 10–12 percent. They claim this gap allows mills to show lower sugar output from farmers’ cane while diverting the remaining quantity.
Patil said that at a recovery rate of 15 percent, one tonne of sugarcane should produce about 150 kilograms of sugar. However, mills often report only 120 kilograms per tonne, leaving around 30 kilograms unaccounted for. At an estimated market price of Rs 40 per kilogram, this results in a loss of Rs 1,200 per tonne for farmers.
He pointed out that with nearly 8 crore tonnes of sugarcane crushed last season, the cumulative loss to farmers exceeds Rs 9,000 crore. He also raised concerns that existing regulations do not have strict provisions to prevent such underreporting.
Patil further argued that the rule mandating a minimum distance between sugar mills has limited competition in the sector. According to him, removing this restriction could encourage new entrepreneurs and farmer groups to set up smaller mills, improving transparency and accountability.
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Source : Chinimandi
