Sugarcane acreage in Maharashtra, one of the largest sugar producing States, will be lower this year due to the impact of the prevailing drought, Agriculture Secretary Ashish Bahuguna has said. However, he did not quantify the expected decline in acreage.
The successive drought in Maharashtra has affected the availability of drinking water and fodder. “The next two months are going to be extremely difficult,” Bahuguna told reporters. The India Meteorological Department is expected to issue its monsoon forecast sometime next week, he said.
Cotton planting in Punjab and Haryana will be delayed by about two to three weeks due to delayed wheat harvesting, Bahuguna said. Typically, cotton planting starts in the middle of April and goes on till June in the northern States. The erratic weather has delayed harvest of wheat, which is currently on in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. “The wheat output will be better than last year’s 93.9 million tonnes,” Bahuguna said.
According to sugar industry estimates, cane acreage in Maharashtra could come down by about a third for the 2013-14 season starting October, as water shortage in major parts of cane-growing areas has affected fresh planting.
Cane planting has been hit in areas such as Marathawada, Vidarbha, Pune, Solapur and Kolhapur among other growing areas. As a result, sugar production in Maharashtra could decline to around 5 million tonnes in 2013-14 from the current year’s 7 million tonnes. A clearer picture is expected to emerge over in next few months.