Commodity Online
NEW DELHI : India’s sugarcane production dropped 17 percent to 289.23 million tones last fiscal, according to Agriculture Ministry.
In a statement issue here, the ministry said country’s sugarcane production, pegged at 289.23 million tones is marginally less than 290.45 million tones arrived at the release of second advance estimates in February 2009.
In 2007-08 seasons (October-September), sugarcane production was 348.19 million tones.
The cane production estimates has greater significance this year as the industry claims lower output as one of the factors for the high sugar prices.
According to the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), sugar production in 2008-09 season is expected to decline by 43 per cent to 14.7 million tones from 26.4 million tones in the previous year.
Industry officials also said that there is a decline in recovery rate, which is the volume of sugar extracted out of sugarcane. Out of every quintal of sugarcane, about nine kg of sugar is produced, although it varies from state to state.
If both the Agriculture Ministry's data and the industry body's data are to be believed, there is a huge difference in the decline between cane production and sugar output.
The industry has claimed that there is greater diversion of sugarcane towards production of gur and jaggery that forced some mills to pay Rs 155-160 a quintal for cane against the mandatory Rs 140 a quintal, fixed by the Uttar Pradesh government.
