Sugarcane farmers registration in Maha, Karnataka from next season
For realistic assessment of sugar production in advance, the food ministry will initiate online registration of sugarcane farmers in key producing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka from 2024-25 season (October-September).
Sources told FE, the state-specific portal would register farmers’ details and mills who are going to buy sugarcane so that a real-time sugar output could be projected well in advance. A food ministry official said farmers’ registration would help the government to estimate output and assess supplies in advance.
Currently, Uttar Pradesh has an online enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for managing the sugar production and supply to factories through the mobile app e-Ganna. The app has been created for approximately 4 million sugarcane farmers in the state. The dedicated web portal integrates over 50 sugar mills and automates the entire receipt or ‘Parchi’ distribution system for the farmers, according to an official.
“Once we register, sugarcane farmers and mills in three key states, the advance projection of production and supplies would be more robust,” the official said.
Meanwhile, according to the government assessment, current year’s sugar production (2023-24 marketing year) is estimated in the range of 33 – 33.5 million tonne (MT) which includes 1.7 MT of sweetener allocated for ethanol production via sugarcane juice and B-heavy molasses. The domestic sugar consumption is estimated around 27 MT.
The sugar output for 2022-23 season at 37.3 MT, which includes diversion towards ethanol production. However earlier this month, the industry body the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) had projected the country’s gross sugar production in the 2023-24 (October-September) at 34 MT, an upward revision of 3% compared to previous projection.
According to an ISMA note, sugar production till March 15, 2024 in the current sugar season reached 28.07 MT, against 28.26 MT produced last year on the corresponding date. Number of operating factories according to the trade body were 371 this year against 325 mills which operated last year, it stated.
The food ministry had directed all sugar mills and distilleries to stop using sugarcane juice for production of ethanol in order to ensure adequate supply of sweetener for domestic consumption.
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Food ministry officials said they are reviewing sugar production periodically to explore the possibility of allocating additional volume of sugar for ethanol production. In the 2022-23 season, the country has achieved 12% ethanol blending in petrol, producing 5 billion litres of ethanol.
The government had earlier extended restrictions on sugar exports beyond October 31, 2023. India exported 6 MT of sugar in the last sugar season (2022-23), and a record 11 MT in the year before.
Source Link : https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/sugarcane-farmers-registration-in-maha-karnataka-from-next-season/ar-BB1kLSkW
