The Hindu Business Line : Amaravathy Co-op hit by inadequate cane arrivals

The unit, which was considered as one of the best performing sugar mills in the co-operative sector until recently, has run into rough weather due to acute drought affecting cane arrivals to the factory on the one hand and in not being able to achieve the cane registration target on the other.

The plant has a daily cane crushing capacity of 1,250 tonnes, and the crushing season is generally 172 days.

In 2003-04 sugar season, cane arrivals dipped to 43,711 tonnes, against the requirement of 2.15 lakh tonnes. According to sources, the supplies fell sharply from 3.5 lakh tonnes during the earlier years to less than 50,000 tonnes last year.

During the 2004-05 season, the mill authorities are expecting the cane arrivals to hover around 56,000 tonnes.

Sugar recovery also is said to have taken a beating from 10.45 per cent during the earlier years to just above 9 per cent last year.

Meanwhile, it is reliably learnt that growers have been diverting the cane to the private mills and jaggery-making units for more remunerative prices.

As per the Centre's directive, the statutory minimum price for the cane has been fixed at Rs 815 per tonne, but the private mills and jaggery-making units are said to be offering a better deal.

This has to a large extent affected cane arrivals to the co-operative sugar unit.

The mill has in the meantime fixed a programme to start cane crushing from April 20.

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